II    I:    i: 


1  i   i   i    ! 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON,  PHILADELPHIA, 

PUBLISU 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


THOMAS  ARNOLD,  D.D., 

AUTHOR  OP    "lectures  ON   MODERN   HISTORY,"    "THE    HISTORY  OF  ROME,"  &C.,  &C. 

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The  Publishers  give  bcloio  a  few  only  of  tlie  very  many  flattering 
notices  they  have  received  of  this  work: — 

We  will  I'enture  to  affirm  that  with  the  single  exception  of  Bisnop  Butler's,  no  sermons  have  ever 
been  printed  which  contain  so  many  '"  seeds  of  thought."  No  unthinking  man  can  read  them  without 
being  benefited.  Our  obligations  to  Arnold  are  so  great  that  we  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass  witli- 
out  recommending  his  works.  Now  that  the  American  publishers  have  printed  this  work  so  well  and 
so  cheaply,  let  them  be  encouraged.  We  hope  every  clergyman  and  every  intelligent  layman  will  pro- 
cure this  volume,  and  thus  encourage  the  publishers  to  print  all  of  Arnold's  sermons,  which  in  the 
English  tdition  are  in  six  volumes,  and  cost  to  import  upwards  of  twenty  dollars.  —  Southern  Church- 
man. 

His  aim  is  to  make  his  readers  acquainted  with  themselves;  to  impress  them  with  the  necessity  of 
controlling  their  passions;  to  untold  to  them  the  principles  by  which  they  should  be  governed;  to 
exemplify  the  nature  and  the  dilTiculties  of  piety ;  and  prompt  them  to  a  virtuous,  a  religicms,  and  a 
useful  life.  He  is  never  common-place  nor  proli.t.  His  thoughts  are  clear  and  fresh,  often  unfolding  his 
subjects  in  new  aspects,  and  leading  the  mind  into  fields  never  before  explored,  and  glowing  with  objects 
of  unexpected  interest  and  beauty.— iorii's  Review. 

The  Christian  life  is  set  forth  in  these  volumes  with  all  that  delightful  fervor  and  force  which  charac- 
terized the  late  admirable  author.  They  contain  an  exhibition  of  principles  that  are  of  universal  interes 
to  the  religious  reader.— //arper*'  Magazine. 

Dr.  Arnold  was  one  of  those  men  who  make  their  mark  upon  the  age  m  which  they  live.  To  great 
experience  of  life  and  knowledge  of  character,  he  united  sound  common  sense,  and,  with  erudition,  he 
possessed  what  may  he  termed  a  capacity  for  practical  generalizing.  As  a  teacher  of  youth  and  as  a 
clergyman,  he  "  magnified  his  oflice,"  and  his  writings  carry  the  evidence  of  the  respect  in  which  he 
held  his  vocation,  and  of  the  thorough  manner  in  which  he  prosecuted  \i.— North  American. 

We  would  earnestly  counsel  all  parents  to  study  this  book,  and  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  their 
sons. — Criterion. 

We  honor  the  boldness  of  (he  man,  we  admire  his  scholarship,  and  we  love  his  fieij.— Evangelist. 


SrrliM.sliop  Patfhj's  IXhxh. 

W.ll  It  .1  for  the  Protrslant  cause,  wliirh.  in  son*  rcsiiects.  never  had  a  more  valianr  champion  that 
B.c..«"j  \v|.»Telv  ."m.U  Archh,»h..p  of  I'ut.hn.  We  n.ost  cordially  recommend  h.swrumgs.  They 
can  uevrr  Ix;  rr:iJ  without  instruction.  — Epuropo/  RfCOrtUr. 

LINDSAY  8l  BLAKISTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  PUBLISH 

SCllirTUlli:   ilEVELATIONS 

CO^XER^ING  A  FUTUilE  STATE. 

In  one  volume,  12mo.     Price,  75  cents. 

Thi«  work  can  Ixirdly  fail  to  be  intereslins  to  the  people  of  God,  discussing,  as  it  does,  the  most  itn- 
purlant  of  all  concerns,  our  relations  to  a  future  stiite  of  existenw.-Prwiy/rrian. 

W»  can,  wUh  great  confidence,  recommend  it  as  one  of  the  greatest  efforts  of  mind  of  the  present 
geuemlion.— ifuufnem  Baptist. 

It  IS  an  able  contribution  to  theoloeical  science,  and  every  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  every  man 
who  has  capacity  or  relish  for  such  subjects,  should  read  it.-Presbytenan  of  the  West. 

No  book  is  more  needed  in  this  age  of  scepticism,  and  no  man  better  qualiCed  to  write  it  than 
Buhop  Wbately— CArtsliuii  Chronicle. 

We  nin«t  cheerfully  recommend  this  volume  to  our  readers  as  an  antidote  for  the  errors  of  the 
imy  .—Chrutum  SccTctam. 

II. 

SCRIPTURE  REVELATIONS 

CONCERNING  GOOD  AND  EVIL  ANGELS. 

In  one  volume,  12ino.     Price,  63  cents. 

The  clear,  coeent,  and  logical  writings  of  the  eminent  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  can  never  fail  to  secure 
reiidrn.  When  he  asks  attention,  he  is  sure  to  have  something  to  say  which  is  deserving  of  a  hearing, 
mi-.d  la  always  amply  prepared  to  reward  the  attention  he  has  excited.  In  the  treatise  before  us,  he 
put>  to  flight  the  igiionint  unbelief  of  those  who  profess  to  discredit  the  existence  and  mnueiices  of  evil 
(piriK.  Lach  topic  it  disciused  with  eminent  clearncsn,  and  the  Scripture  doctrine  is  evolved  m  a 
nianner  highly  saiitf^ctory. 

III. 

THOUGHTS  AND  APOPHTHEGMS, 

RELIGIOUS  AND  MISCELLANEOUS, 

FROM  THE  ■WRITINGS  OF  ARCHBISHOP  WHATELY. 

In  one  volume,  12ino.     Price,  $1.00. 
Tbfra  it  adirectneii  of  aim  and  nrguinent,  and  a  wide  cxinipass  of  mind,  in  the  Writings  of  Arch- 
bltlutp  Wliatcly.  which  commend  them  to  thouglilful,  discnniin:ttiiig  readers. — Lutheran  Observer. 

I    \'. 

LECTURES  ON  THE   LIVES  AND  WRITINGS 

11 1 

Oril   LORD'S  APOSTLES. 

In  one  volume,  12mo.     {Preparing.) 
Intallrctnal  titonr,  eitrroivc  erudition,  strong  common  sense,  and  manly  argument,  commend  his 
worli  to  Ibe  aitentiou  of  atudenla  and  geoenil  readon.— C4n</uin  Observer. 


THOUGHTS 


AND 


APOPHTHEGMS 


FROM   THE   WRITINGS 


ARCHBISHOP  WHATELY. 


Invenies  etiam  di^jecti  mt'mbru  poctm. 

Horace. 

The  perception  of  analogies  —  the  exercise  of  that  powerful  abstraction  which  seizes  the 
point  of  figroement  in  a  number  of  otherwise  dissimilar  individuals  —  it  is  in  this  that  the 
greatest  gouius  is  shown.  —  Bisiiop  Copleston. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

LINDSAY   &   BLAKISTON, 

1856. 


CIBRAItY 

toBTEKSITY  OF  i.Al.lFORNlA^ 
SAiNTA  HAMiiAhA 


INTRODUCTIO  N 


In  presenting  to  the  Public  a  collection  of  Thouglits  and 
Apophthegms  from  the  writings  of  Archbishop  Whatcly,  the 
Compiler  would  desire  to  remind  the  Reader,  that  the 
Author,  from  whose  works  this  selection  is  made,  is  not  one 
of  those  fragmentary  writers  who  deal  in  insulated  passages 
of  wisdom  and  of  wit,  and  resemble,  as  has  been  remarked, 
"  Chinese  painters,  who  represent  each  single  object  admi- 
rably, but  have  no  perspective."  His  works,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  all  complete  treatises,  of  which  any  short  extracts 
can  be  but  the  mere  shreds  and  parings  ;  and  consequently, 
it  is  only  too  obvious,  that  as  an  exposition  of  his  views, 
this,  or  any,  collection  of  detached  passages,  must  neces- 
sarily be  somewhat  imperfect.  Yet  these  treatises,  though 
all  specimens  of  close  and  consecutive  reasonings  are  so 
rich  in  comprehensive  and  suggestive  maxims,  in  calm  and 
lucid  statements  of  great  principles,  and  in  the  varied 
illustration  of  them  by  familiar  examples,  that  the  Compiler 
cannot  but  anticipate  a  favourable  reception  for  a  selection 
the   design  of  which  is  to  present  in  a  small  compass,  and 

(ix) 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

thus  render  more  generally  accessible,  some  of  those  preg- 
nant principles  and  suggestive  thoughts.  Indeed,  the 
Compiler  cannot  but  feel,  that  whatever  apology  may  be 
required  for  the  work,  is  due  not  to  the  Public,  but  to  the 
Author,  whose  thoughts,  presented  in  this  detached  form, 
must  be  more  or  less  injuriously  affected  by  separation  from 
the  context. 

This  needed  apology  is  now  respectfully  offered  to  him, 
together  with  grateful  thanks  for  the  characteristic  liberality 
with  which  permission  to  make  a  selection  from  his  writings 
has  been  accorded.  As  the  Author  has  no  connection  Avith 
the  publication,  or  even  knowledge  of  the  mode  in  which  his 
permission  has  been  made  use  of,  the  Compiler  is  alone 
responsible  for  all  beyond  that  permission. 

It  remains  only  to  add,  that  the  miscellaneous  thoughts 'on 
a  very  great  variety  of  subjects,  part  of  which  has  been 
devoted  to  that  most  important  of  all  subjects,  the  "  Love 
of  Truth  in  Religious  Inquiry ;"  and  the  passages  bearing 
upon  it,  have  been  selected  in  very  earnest  hope  that  some 
of  thorn  might  serve,  under  the  influence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  to  implant  the  precious  germs  of  that  desire  for 
truth,  for  its  own  sake,  which  gives  singleness  of  eye  to 
perceive,  and  smglcncss  of  purpose  to  pursue  it. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAQE 

Introduction - ix 

I. 

Truth,  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Christianity 13 

II. 

On  some  obstacles  to  the  attainment  of  Truth,  and  to  its  progress 

in  the  World 19 

I.     Indifference  about  Truth ib. 

II.     Dread  of  the  Progress  of  Truth 24 

III.  Bias  of  Judgment 28 

IV.  Aversion     to     Doubt,    and     unnecessary     Delay    in 

Decision 35 

V.     Desire  of  a  supposed  IlappyMedium 42 

VI.     The  love  of  System  44 

VII.     Dread  of  the  Character  of  Inconsistency 47 

VIII.     Suppression  of  the  Exercise  of  Reason 49 

IX.     Abuse  of  Reason 54 

X.     Superstition 59 

XI.     The  Love  of  Novelty G4 

XII.     The  dread  of  Innovation 68 

XIII.     Undue  Deference  to  Human  Authority 72 

XIV.     The  Love  of  Approbation  and  the  Dread  of  Censure..  85 

XV.     Mistaken  Regard  to  Unity 87 

XVI.     Party-Spirit 95 

XVII.     The  Spirit  of  Persecution 98 

(xi) 


Ml  CUNTKXTS. 

PAas 

XVIII.     Kcgard  to  Seeming  Expediency 105 

1.  Pious  Frauds ib. 

2.  Iloserve  and  double  Doctrine 109 

3.  Modern  Theory  of  Development 118 

The  True  alone  the  Expedient 124 

III. 

On  the  Moral  Faculty 127 

IV. 

On  Faith  and  Spiritual  Guidance 135 

V. 

On  the  Appeal  of  Christian  Truth  to  the  Affections 142 

VI. 

Miscellaneous 149  to  442 


THOUGHTS  AND  APOPHTHEGMS 


LOYE  OF  TRUTH  IN  EELIGIOUS  INUUIRY. 


(J  * 


THE  DISTINGUISHING  CHARACTERISTIC  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


The  question,  "What  is  true?"  ouglit  to  stand  on  the 
threshold  of  every  religious  enquiry. 

If  the  question,  "What  is  true,"  be  astcd  only  in  the 
second  place,  it  is  likely  to  receive  a  very  different  answer 
from  "what  it  ■\vould,  if  it  had  been  asked  in  the  first  place. 

That  Avhat  is  true  and  right  loses,  incalculably,  its  benefi- 
cial effect  on  the  mind,  "vvhen  received  on  any  ground  than 
because  it  is  true  and  right. 

Truth  is,  in  such  an  especial  manner,  the  characteristic  of 
the  religion  of  Christ,  that,  in  our  Lord's  reply  to  Pilate,  He 
points  it  out  as  defining  the  very  nature  of  His  kingdom,  of 
His  objects,  and  his  claims  :  —  "  For  this  cause  came  I  into 
the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth."  And 
2  (13) 


14  TULTII,    THE    DISTINOUISIIIN'G 

when,  on  other  occasions,  asserting  His  claims,  He  says,  "  If 
ye  continue  in  My  ■vvorJ,  then  are  ye  My  disciples  indeed, 
and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you 
free."  —  "When  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come.  He  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth."  —  "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  Truth; 
thy  word  is  Truth."  Thus,  too,  the  Apostles  repeatedly  use 
the  words  "Truth"  and  "Faith"  to  designate  the  Christian 
religion.  It  is  Truth  resting  on  evidence,  and  requiring 
Faith  in  it,  on  the  ground  of  its  truth. 

The  Christian  religion  made  its  appearance  as  the  common 
disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  world,  because  it  put  an  end  to 
the  tranquil  influence  of  custom,  authority,  credulity,  sen- 
timent, and  imagination  ;  forced  merif  upon  the  disagreeable 
task  of  examining  evidence,  searching  records,  and  proving 
all  things ;  and  arrayed  in  opposite  opinions,  children  against 
their  parents,  subjects  against  their  princes,  and  the  people 
against  the  priest. 

Christianity,  contrasted  with  the  Jewish  system  of  em- 
blems, is  Truth  in  the  sense  of  reality,  as  substance  is  op- 
posed to  shadows ;  and,  contrasted  with  the  Heathen  My- 
thology, is  Truth  as  opposed  to  falsehood.  "  The  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus"  was  to  supersede  the  heathen  idolatry,  by 
destroying  it ;  and  "  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,"  not  by 
destroying,  indeed,  but  by  fulfilling  them. 

The  Heathen  !Nrytliology  not  only  was  not  true,  but  was 
not  even  supported  as  true ;  it  not  only  deserved  no  faith, 
but  it  demanded  none.  The  very  pretension  to  truth  —  the 
very  demand  of  faitli  —  were  characteristic  distinctions  of 
Christianity, 


CIIARACTEllISTIC    OF   CHRISTIANITY.  15 

To  believe  in  Christianity,  witliout  knowing  why  we  believe 
it,  is  not  Christian  faith,  but  blind  credulity. 

The  word  knowledge,  strictly  employed,  implies  three 
things ;  viz.,  Truth,  Proof,  and  Conviction. 

To  say  that  there  is  the  more  virtue  in  Christian  Faith, 
the  less  it  is  founded  on  evidence,  is  to  forget  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Himself — He  who  "taught  as  one  having  authority 
and  not  as  the  Scribes  "  —  He  who  said  not,  as  the  Prophets 
of  old,  men  seiit  from  God,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord" — but,  as 
Immanuel,  God  dwelling  with  His  people,  "2  say  unto  you," 
—  appealed  to  His  works  as  bearing  witness  of  Him ;  and 
claimed  the  Divine  "j)Ower  to  forgive  sins,"  on  the  ground 
that  He  had  the  no  less  Divine  power  to  bid  the  palsied 
cripple  "take  up  his  bed  and  walk." 

The  Apostles  came  forward  rather  in  the  character  of  wit- 
nesses, than  as  authoritative  guides  ;  and  they  work  miracles 
and  appeal  to  Scripture,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  es- 
tablishing their  own  right  to  deliver  doctrines,  as  to  jyrove  the 
doctrines  which  they  teach.  And  as  with  their  first  teaching, 
so  also  is  it  with  the  subsequent  propagation  of  their  religion. 
Though  the  Authors  of  the  Gospels  wrote,  under  the  extra- 
ordinary superintendence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  those  four  dis- 
tinct statements  of  evidence  of  matters  of  fact,  yet  it  is  not 
as  the  organs  of  inspiration  they  come  forward.  Their  lan- 
guage is  not,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord;"  but,  "He  that  saw  it 
bare  record."  These  things  were  "  delivered  unto  us  by 
those  w^ho,  from  the  beginning,  were  eye-witnesses  and  minis- 
ters of  the  w^ord."  They  have  so  shaped  their  waitings  as  to 
avoid  what  the  method  of  authority  would  require,  and  force 


16  TRUTH,    THE    DISTlXCriSIIINO 

forward  what  the  method  of  examination  Avould  demand  ; 
and  have  thus  shown  pretty  clearly  their  intention,  that  the 
religion  which  they  preached  upon  the  ground  of  evidence, 
should  be  maintained  and  propagated  also  upon  the  same 
ground.  "  These  things" — says  the  Evangelist  John,  speak- 
ing of  Christ's  miracles,  wrought  in  the  presence  of  His  dis- 
ciples —  "  were  written  that  ye  might  believe  .  .  .  and  .  .  . 
believing  ye  might  have  life  through  His  name." 

It  has  been  said  by  a  modern  writer,  "  that  "  the  poor  ig- 
norant uninstructed  peasant  w^ho  says,  '  I  believe  my  religion 
because  I  have  been  told  so  by  those  who  are  wiser  and 
better  than  myself;  my  parents  told  me  so,  and  the  clergy- 
man of  the  parish  told  me  so,'  comes  nearest  to  the  anstver 
of  the  Gospel"  to  that  answer  which  the  apostle  Peter 
directs  us  to  be  ready  to  give  "  to  every  one  that  asketh  a 
reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  us."  And  yet  it  is  manifest 
this  answer  could  have  been  given,  when  the  Gospel  was  first 
])reached,  by  no  Christian  ;  but  might  be,  and  was^  given  by 
every  one  of  his  Pagan  neighbours. 

This  is  to  represent  the  Apostles  of  Christ  as  saying  to 
those  of  whom  they  would  make  converts,  "  Let  every 
succeeding  generation  receive  quietly  the  religion  handed 
down  by  its  fathers,  but  let  this  generation  act  otherwise. 
Take  up  novelty  for  this  once  to  oblige  us,  and  ever  after  ad- 
here to  antiquity." 

Ho  who  })rofcsses  adherence  to  the  national  religion  of 
England,  on  the  ground  that  "it  is  the  religion  of  his 
fathers,"  forgets,  as  do  the  hearers  who  applauded  the  senti- 
ment, that,  on  this  principle,  the  worship  of  Thor  and  Woden 
Avould  claim  precedence. 


CHARACTERISTIC    OF    CHRISTIANITY.  17 

In  these  our  days,  tliere  arc  an  immense  number  of  per- 
sons, who,  professing  faith  in  the  Gospel,  and  zeal  for  its 
support,  yet  assure  us  that  enquiries  into  its  evidences  are 
likely  to  lead  to  infidelity.  What  Avould  such  a  person  say 
of  some  professed  friend  coming  forward  as  his  advocate,  and 
saying,  "  My  friend  here,  is  a  veracious  and  worthy  man, 
and  there  is  no  foundation  for  any  of  the  charges  brought 
against  him  ;  and  his  integrity  is  fully  believed  in  by  persons 
who  thoroughly  trust  him,  and  who  have  never  thought  of 
reason  or  enquiring  about  his  character  at  all ;  but,  of  all 
things,  do  not  make  any  investigation,  for  the  more  you  en- 
quire and  examine,  the  less  likely  most  people  will  be  to  be- 
lieve in  his  integrity!"  Surely  a  man  so  defended  would 
exclaim,  "  Deliver  me  from  my  friends,  and  I  fear  not  my 
enemies." 

Those  who  boldly  stand  out  and  court  enquiry,  and  bring 
forward  cogent  reason  for  their  conviction,  are  reproached, 
by  a  certain  modern  writer,  with  infirm  faith  and  timidity. 
Timidity  of  all  things !  One  is  reminded  of  the  story  of 
some  Indian  savages  serving  as  allies  to  the  British  in 
America,  wdio,  when  the  allied  force  was  attacked  by  the 
enemy,  ran  and  took  shelter  in  the  woods,  while  the  British 
troops  stood  firm  under  a  heavy  fire,  and  repulsed  the  assail- 
ants. It  was  expected  that  their  Indian  friends  would  have 
been  full  of  admiration  at  this  display  of  superior  valour; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  their  interpretation  of  it  was,  that  the 
British  soldiers  were  such  cowards  that  they  were  too  much 
frightened  to  run  away.  Almost  every  chapter  of  the  New 
Testament  convicts  the  Lord  Jesus  and  His  followers  of  that 
"  timidity,"  in  appealing  to  the  evidence  of  miracles  and  pro- 
phecies, which  is. censured  and  derided. 
2  * 


18  CnARACTERISTIC    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

The  (laniTcr  of  decrying  all  appeal  to  evidence  is  not  con- 
lined  to  a  mere  -want  of  adequate  evidence  for  the  truth  of 
the  Christian  religion,  but  something  distinct  from,  and 
beyond,  this  ;  the  danger,  namely,  of  a  contrary  presumption 
arising.  It  is  not  merely,  that  men,  to  whom  sufficient 
evidence  has  not  been  furnished,  will  be  likely,  themselves, 
to  reject  what  has  not  been  proved  to  them ;  but  that  men 
of  all  classes — the  learned  as  well  as  the  unlearned — Avill  be 
likely  to  regard  it  as  a  positive  evidence  against  the  religion, 
that  it  professes  to  be  calculated  for  mankind  in  general,  and 
designed  to  claim  their  rational  belief,  while  its  defenders 
themselves  confess  that  the  object  cannot  be  accomplished. 

To  labour  to  prove  a  truth,  is  to  imply  the  possibility  of 
doubt,  and  to  challenge  enquiry;  therefore  an  appeal  to 
truth,  as  resting  on  evidence,  is  the  characteristic  of  a  true 
religion,  which  alone  can  satisfy  doubts,  or  stand  the  test  of 
enquiry. 

The  kingdom  of  truth  the  Lord  came  to  establish,  is  a 
kingdom  whose  subjects  should  have  been  athnitted  as  sucJi, 
in  consefpience  of  their  being  "of  the  truth;"  that  is,  not 
mere  adlierents  of  truth  by  accident,  but  votaries  of  truth. 
"Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  My  voice." 

He  only  is  "of  the  truth"  who,  with  reverential  love,  is 
seeking,  in  candour  and  sinqjlieity,  to  learn  God's  truth,  and, 
in  earnest  self-devotion,  to  obey  it  at  all  seeming  hazards ; 
after  the  example  of  Ilim  who  "came  into  the  world  to  bear 
witness  unto  the  truth." 


OBSTACLES    TO    THE    ATTAINMENT    OF    TRUTH.  19 


SOME  OBSTACLES  TO  THE  ATTAINMENT  OF  TRUTH,  AND  TO 
ITS  PROGRESS  IN  THE  WORLD. 


I.  Indifference  about  Truth. 

What  is  the  Truth?  is  the  question  to  which  all  other 
questions  should  be  postponed. 

All  men  wish  to  have  truth  on  their  side  ;  but  few  to  be  on 
the  side  of  truth. 

Some  men,  from  supposing  themselves  to  have  found  truth, 
take  for  granted  that  it  was  for  truth  they  ivere  seeking. 

Men  miss  truth  more  often  from  their  indifference  about  it, 
than  from  intellectual  incapacity. 

Many  a  man  adduces  on  some  subjects  puerile  fallacies, 
that  are,  perhaps,  in  reality  no  more  Ms  own  than  the  sound 
arguments  he  employs  on  others ;  he  has  given  an  indolent, 
unthinking  acquiescence  to  each,  and  has  suffered  his  powers 
of  thought  to  lie  doi-mant,  which,  if  he  could  be  excited  to 
exert,  would  be  fully  suflBcient  to  enable  him  to  distinguish 
the  sound  from  the  unsound. 

There  is  a  heresy  of  Indifference  to  revealed  religion  which 
is  the  most  deadly  of  all  heresies. 

Some  of  the  articles  of  belief,  of  the  heresy  of  Indifference, 


20  OBSTACLES    TO    THE    ATTAINMENT    OF    TRUTH, 

are  too  readily  ami  generally  received  —  "  all  religions  are 
true,  and  all  e(|ually  true," — "all  religions  profess  to  furnish 
revelations  respecting  the  Deity  and  the  world  to  come,"  — 
"  all  religions  have  their  Priest  and  their  Priestcraft,"  —  "  all 
religions  teach  piety  towards  some  Divine  Being,  and  incul- 
cate moral  conduct."     And  this  creed  is  wound  up  with  — 

"  For  modes  of  faith,  let  senseless  bigots  fight; 
IIo  can't  be  wrong  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 

And  yet,  in  every  one  of  the  points,  in  respect  of  which  all 
religions  will  have  been  thus  indiscriminately  thrown  together, 
the  patient  and  diligent  eufjuircr  Avill  perceive  that  Chris- 
tianity does,  in  fact,  stand  eminently  distinguished  from  all 
the  rest.  It  bears  only  that  superficial  and  general  resem- 
blance to  them,  which  a  genuine  coin  does  to  its  various 
counterfeits. 

The  depreciation  of  Christianity  by  Indiflcrcntism  is  a 
more  insidious  and  less  curable  evil  than  infidelity  itself. 
For  he  who  denies  the  whole  of  it,  but  who  yet  acknowledges 
the  importance,  if  true,  of  what  he  rejects,  may,  at  least,  be 
brou'dit  to  attend  to  the  arfjuments  in  favour  of  it :  but  far 
less  corrigible  is  the  error  of  him,  who,  confounding  Chris- 
tianity with  all  the  systems  which  human  fraud  or  folly  has 
devised,  or,  at  best,  regarding  it  as  a  mere  authoritative  con- 
firmation of  Natural  Religion,  looks  ujjon  the  whole  system 
with  indifference,  as  a  thing  needed,  perhaps,  for  the  vulgar, 
but  whicli  the  educated  and  intelligent  might  very  well  have 
dispensed  with,  and  about  which  they  need  not  much  concern 
themselves. 

The  study  of  Xiitunil  Religion  ought  properly  to  follow, 
or  at  least  to  accouipany.  not  t<»  preeede,  tlial  of  Uevelalioii. 


AND    TO    ITS    PROGRESS    IN    THE    WORLD.  21 

The  Gospel  has  exorcised  a  powerful,  tliougli  an  unacknoAV- 
ledged,  and,  perhaps,  an  unperceived,  influence,  even  on  tiie 
minds  of  those  who  reject  it ;  they  have  drunk  at  that  stream 
of  knowledge,  which  they  cannot,  or  will  not,  trace  up  to  the 
real  source  from  which  it  flows. 

To  dress  up  a  system  with  the  spoils  of  revelation,  to  call 
it  Natural  Religion,  and  then  to  make  it  a  standard  by  which 
to  interpret  the  declarations  of  Scripture,  is,  in  fact,  to  cor- 
rect an  original,  from  an  incorrect  and  imperfect  transcript. 

To  attribute  to  Natural  Religion  what  Revelation  alone 
can  furnish,  is  to  confound  Christianity  with  the  various 
systems  of  philosophical  speculation  or  popular  superstition, 
in  careless  blindness  to  the  splendid  characteristics  which 
distinguish  it  from  them  all.  The  star  which  stands  over  the 
holy  Infant  at  Bethlehem  has  no  fellow  in  the  firmament. 

If  the  Jews  be  justly  condemned,  who  crucified  our  Lord 
"between  two  thieves" — thus  " numbering  with  the  trans- 
gressors" of  the  vilest  kind,  the  only  Man  who  never  trans- 
gressed— it  is  awful  to  think  what  account  those  will  have  to 
render  at  the  last  day,  who  vilify  His  religion,  by  confounding 
it  Avith  the  grossest  systems  of  human  imposture,  not  only  in 
the  very  points  in  Avhich  the  two  are  different,  but  in  those 
points  in  Avhich  they  arc  absolutely  contrasted. 

The  pursuit  of  religious  truth  is  the  noblest,  as  it  is  the 
most  important  pursuit,  in  Avhich  any  human  being  can  be 
engaged. 

He  who  either  cares  not  to  be  a  lover  of  truth,  or  takes  for 


22  OBSTACLES    TO    THE    ATTAINMENT    OF   TRUTH, 

granted  that  he  is  such,  without  taking  any  pains  to  acquire 
the  habit,  is  not  likely  ever  to  acquire  it. 

Men  first  make  up  their  minds  —  and  the  smaller  the  mind 
the  sooner  made  up  —  and  then  seek  for  reasons,  and  if  they 
chance  to  stumble  upon  a  good  reason,  of  course  they  do  not 
reject  it.  But  though  they  are  right,  they  are  right  only  by 
chance. 

ISIan  is  naturally  more  desirous  of  a  quiet  and  approving, 
than  of  a  vigilant  and  tender  conscience,  more  desirous  of 
security  than  of  safety. 

Many  a  man  -who  is  extravagantly  imagining  that  he  can 
purchase  repose  for  his  soul  in  a  future  life,  is  in  reality  seek- 
ing for  the  repose  of  his  soul  in  tltis  life. 

In  the  great  day  of  judgment,  each  man  will  not  only  see 
his  Judge,  but  he  will  also  see  himself,  which  none  can  do 
perfectly  at  present,  and  which  few  endeavour  to  do  at  all. 

Men  arc  apt  to  overlook  the  possible  high  practical  import- 
ance of  thinking  rightly  on  a  point  which  has  in  itself  no 
j)ractical  tendency. — The  opinion  so  harmless,  however  ground- 
less, that  in  the  resurrection,  all  the  same  particles  of  matter 
Avhich  belong  to  our  bodies  now,  must  be  brought  together 
and  reunited,  has  left  an  opening  for  the  cavils  of  irreligious 
scoffers.  Yet  the  illustration  which  Paul  employs  is  that  of 
a  seed  sown,  and  this  alone  is  suflicicnt  to  refute  the  error. 
For  we  raise  from  a  seed,  not  the  same  thing  that  was  sown, 
but  a  ]»laiit  which  is  very  different.  "  Thou  sowest  not  tliat 
wliich  shall  be,  but  bare  grain," — that  is,  mere  seed — "but 
God  giveth  it  a  body  us  it  hath  pleased  llini." 


AND    TO    ITS    PROGRESS    IN    THE    WORLD.  23 

According  to  the  proverb,  "vvhicli  Lord  Bacon  has  some- 
where alluded  to,  "Nettle  roots  sting  not,"  the  first  entrance 
of  some  false  principle,  or  of  some  usurped  power,  is  gene- 
rally in  reference  to  something,  in  itself,  either  harmless  or 
else  unimportant ;  and  when  the  root  has  once  got  possession 
of  the  soil,  it  will  afterwards  send  up  stronger  and  stronger 
shoots. 

To  be  blind  to  the  unsoundness  of  a  principle  till  it  pro- 
duces actually  all  the  ill  effects  that  it  can  consistently  lead 
to,  is  not  to  perceive  which  way  the  wind  is  blowing  unless  it 
blows  a  perfect  gale. 

A  self-evident  and  apparently  insignificant  truth,  admitted 
under  the  guise  of  a  truism,  has  not  seldom  been  converted 
into  a  dogma  of  fearful  importance.  When  the  wooden  horse 
has  been  introduced,  it  is  found  to  contain  armed  men  con- 
cealed within  it. 

The  simplest  and  most  obvious  truth,  is  worth  setting 
forth,  that  it  may  clear  away  some  of  the  fallacies,  which, 
scattered  at  random,  cause  impediments  in  the  enquirer's 
path  to  truth ;  even  as  the  wreaths  of  snow,  tossed  about  for- 
tuitously by  the  blind  fury  of  the  winds,  may  form  serious 
obstructions  in  the  roads. 

Those  who  on  each  occasion  watched  the  motions,  and 
registered  the  times  of  occultation,  of  Jupiter's  satellites, 
little  thought,  perhaps,  themselves,  what  important  results 
they  were  preparing  the  way  for.  Hence,  Bacon  urges  us  to 
pursue  truth,  Avithout  always  requiring  to  perceive  its  practi- 
cal application. 

Men  often  speak  contemptuously  of  over  exactness — of 


24  DREAD   OF   THE    I'llOGRESS   OP   TRUTH. 

attendinf!  to  minute  and  subtle  distinctions ;  while  these 
minute  distinctions  are  exactly  those  which  call  for  careful 
attention  in  all  who  would  escape,  or  detect,  error.  It  is  for 
want  of  attention  to  minute  points,  that  houses  are  robbed 
and  set  on  fire.  Burglars  do  not,  in  general,  come  and  bat- 
tor  down  the  front  door;  but  climb  in  at  some  window  whose 
fastenings  have  been  neglected ;  and  an  incendiary,  or  a 
careless  servant,  does  not  kindle  a  tar-barrel  in  the  middle 
of  a  room,  but  leaA'cs  a  lighted  turf,  or  a  candle-snuff,  in  tlie 
thatch  or  in  a  heap  of  shavings. 

No  truth  should  be  deemed  not  worth  maintaining,  nor  an 
unsound  principle  thought  too  insignificant  to  be  worth  re- 
futing, because  no  longer  needed  for  establishing  some  par- 
ticular conclusion.  The  time  when  the  need  is  not  pressing, 
is  the  very  time  to  provide  ourselves  with  such  firm-fixed  and 
right  principles  as  may  avail  in  time  of  need,  and  to  destroy 
the  roots  of  those  theoretical  errors,  which  moy  be  torpid, 
yet  ready  to  vegetate  as  soon  as  the  season  is  favourable  to 
them,  ^^^len  the  storm  is  in  its  fury,  it  may  be  too  late  to 
drop  the  anchor. 

It  is  not  enough  to  believe  what  you  maintain,  you  must 
maintain  what  you  believe ;  and  maintain  it,  because  you 
believe  it. 


11.  Drl'ad  of  the  Progress  of  Truth. 

To  dread  danger  from  the  progress  of  any  truth,  physical, 
moral,  or  religious,  is  to  manifest  a  want  of  faith  in  God's 
power,  or,  in  His  will  to  maintain  His  own  cause. 


DREAD  OF  THE  PROGRESS  OP  TRUTH.         25 

Falsehood,  like  tlie  dry-rot,  flourishes  the  more  in  propor- 
tion as  air  and  light  arc  excluded. 

Truths  dangerous  indeed  ;  Yes  - —  and  so  arc  meat  and 
drink ;  but  who  will  therefore  resolve  to  perish  with  hunger  ? 

Unless  the  people  can  he  kept  in  total  darkness,  it  is  the 
wisest  way  for  the  advocates  of  truth  to  give  them  full  light. 

Those  are  narrow  prejudices  which  would  set  science  and 
religion  in  array  against  each  other,  and  the  practical  conse- 
quence, the  making  them  indeed  adverse,  though  easy  to  be 
foreseen,  is  often  overlooked  in  practice.  If  the  efforts,  for- 
merly made  by  a  bigoted  hierarchy,  to  represent  the  culti- 
vation of  astronomy  as  opposed  to  religion,  had  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  consec{uently  no  Christian  had  been  an  astronomer, 
the  result  produced  by  themselves,  viz.,  that  no  astronomer 
would  have  been  a  Christian,  would  have  been  triumphantly 
appealed  to  in  justification  of  their  censures. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  Grammar  ("  Gramarye")  was  regarded 
as  a  kind  of  magic  art. 

Those  who  avow  their  dread  of  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
of  any  kind,  as  likely  to  be  injurious  to  the  cause  of  religion, 
forget  that  the  acknowledgment  of  such  a  feeling,  or  even  a 
bare  suspicion  of  its  existence,  does  more  harm  to  that  cause, 
than  all  the  assaults  of  its  adversaries.  However  sincere 
their  own  belief  may,  in  fact,  be,  the  impression  will  inevi- 
tably be  excited,  that  it  is  not  so ;  that  they  secretly  distrust 
the  goodness  of  their  cause ;  and  are  desirous,  from  some 
sinister  motive,  of  keeping  up  a  system  of  delusion,  by  sup- 
pressing the  free  exercise  of  reason.  For  truth  can  never 
be    at  variance  with    truth ;    discoveries  in  astronomy,  for 

3 


26         DREAD  OF  THE  PROGRESS  OF  TRUTH. 

example,  in  cliemistry,  or  in  geology,  may  indeed  be  totally 
uneonuectod  ^vith  religious  truths,  but  can  never  contradict 
them.  To  this  it  is  replied,  that  it  is  not  truth,  but  specious 
falsehood,  not  real,  but  pretended  discoveries  that  are 
dreaded.  But  this  falsehood  should  be  refuted,  and  these 
alleged  discoveries  tested,  by  an  appeal  to  such  data,  as  our 
natural  powers  of  reason  supply  ;  not  by  an  appeal  to  the 
Scriptures  save  as  an  ancient  book  ;  not  in  reference  to  their 
sacred  character ;  in  short,  not  as  Scripture.  We  ought  to 
employ  Scripture  for  its  own  purpose,  which  is  to  reveal  to 
us  relisious  and  moral  truths.  It  is  for  us  to  "  behave  our- 
selves  valiantly  for  our  country  and  for  the  cities  of  our 
God,"  instead  of  bringing  the  ark  of  God  into  the  field  of 
battle  to  fight  for  us. 

The  truths  of  Religion  ought  not  to  be  rested  on  any 
decision  respecting  questions  belonging  to  the  Natural-phi- 
losopher, or  the  Metaphysician ;  nor  our  hopes  in  God's 
promises  be  mixed  up  with  debates  about  Extension,  and 
Gravitation,  and  Form. 

It  is  often  said,  that  though  it  may  be  well  for  learned 
and  skilful  Divines  to  have  the  objections  to  Christianity 
placed  before  them,  yet  that  it  is  better  not  to  notice  objec- 
tions generally^  for  fear  of  alarming  and  unsettling  the 
minds  of  plain  unlearned  people,  who  had,  probably,  never 
heard  of  any  thing  of  the  kind.  Now,  many  persons,  who 
have  never  heard  any  thing  distinct  on  the  subject,  have 
heard,  and  are  made  uneasy  by,  vague  reports  and  obscure 
rumours  of  objections,  made  by  some  supposed  learned  men, 
who  have  proceeded  on  ^'■rational"  grounds,  without  knowing 
distinctly  what  they  are;  when,  perhaps,  if  these  objections 
■were  clearly  stated  to  them,  they  are  qualified,  by  their  own 


DREAD  OF  THE  PROGRESS  OP  TRUTH.         27 

plain  sense,  to  perceive  how  irrational  they  are.  Suppose 
you  were  startled  in  a  dark  night,  by  something  that  looked 
like  a  spectre  in  a  winding-sheet,  would  not  he  who  should 
bring  a  lantern,  and  show  you  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  white 
cloth  hanging  on  a  bush,  give  you  far  better  encouragement, 
than  he  who  merely  exhorted  you  to  "  look  another  Avay,  keep 
up  your  heart,  whistle  and  pass  on." 

Those  who  censure  the  endeavours  to  enlighten  the  adher- 
ents of  some  erroneous  Churches,  on  the  ground,  that  many 
of  them  have  thence  become  atheists,  and  many,  fanatics, 
forget  that  this  is  a  probable  and  natural  result,  of  the  per- 
nicious effects  upon  the  mind,  of  any  system  of  blind,  unin- 
quiring,  acquiescence,  and  that  therefore  to  censure  the 
casting  out  of  that  evil  spirit,  which  such  a  system  is,  would 
be  to  condemn  the  cure  of  the  man  possessed  with  a  demon, 
who,  as  might  have  been  expected,  cruelly  rent  and  mangled 
the  victim,  as  it  came  out  of  him,  and  left  him  half  dead  at 
its  departure. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  great  doctrines  of  Justification 
by  faith,  and  of  Spiritual  Influence,  have  been  often  and 
grievously  perverted.  Yet,  this  perversion  is  no  argument 
for  neglect  of  them ;  not  only,  because  neglect  of  any  doc- 
trine, is  no  less  an  evil  than  the  abuse  of  it,  but,  because  the 
very  best  security  against  that  abuse,  is  to  preach  the  doc- 
trine, in  its  genuine  and  uncorrupted  form.  In  the  vast 
Savannahs  of  America,  travellers  are  often,  it  is  said, 
threatened  with  destruction  from  fires,  which  having  been 
kindled,  by  some  accident,  among  the  luxuriant  but  sun- 
scorched  vegetation,  spread  before  the  wind,  with  a  rapidity 
which  precludes  all  hope  of  escape  by  flight.  Their  only  re- 
source, when  thus  pursued  by  the  conflagration,  is  to  kindle 


28  BIAS  OF   JUDGMENT. 

the    grass   before   tlicm  ;    and   thus   leave  the  flame  Avbicli 
follows  them  no  fuel  to  sustain  it. 

Wc  are  told  in  The  Spectator,  that  vrhen  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverley  first  came  to  his  estate,  the  good  knight  found  three 
parts  of  his  house  altogether  useless.  The  best  room  had 
the  reputation  of  being  haunted ;  noises  had  been  heard  in 
another ;  and  his  mother  had  had  several  chambers  shut  up, 
in  which  deaths,  or  other  disagreeable  events,  had  occurred. 
In  this  manner,  his  habitation  was  reduced  to  so  small  a 
compass,  that  he  found  himself  almost  shut  out  of  his  own 
house.  This  story  presents  itself  to  mj  mind,  when  I  see 
men,  without  sufficient  reason,  abandoning  part  of  their  right- 
ful possession  of  Christian  doctrine ;  and  confining  them- 
selves to  a  narrow  range  of  Scripture  truth. 

There  may  be  danger  attendant  on  every  truth,  since, 
there  is  none  that  may  not  be  perverted  by  some,  or,  that 
may  not  give  ofiencc  to  others ;  but,  in  the  case  of  any- 
thing which  plainly  appears  to  be  truth,  every  danger  must 
be  braved.  We  must  maintain  the  truth  as  we  have  received 
it,  and  trust  to  Him  who  is  "the  Truth"  to  prosper  and  de- 
fend it. 


III.  Bias  of  Judgment. 

Indifference  of  the  will,  and  indifference  of  tlie  judg- 
ment, arc  two  very  distinct  things  that  are  often,  confounded. 

'J'o  wisli  to  find  truth  on  one  side  rather  than  the  other,  is 
natural   and  often  wise ;   but  to  tJdnk  that  true  which  wc 


BIAS    OP    JUDGMENT.  29 

wish,  and  merely  lecause  we  wish  it,  is  always  an  undeniable 
folly. 

The  confusion  in  some  men's  minds  between  truth  and 
reality — between  the  report  of  a  thing  which  might  be  either 
true  or  false,  and  the  thing  reported,  which  either  is,  or  is 
not,  is  exhibited  in  the  way  in  Avhich  men  believe  or  dis- 
believe, not  with  a  view  to  the  truth,  or  falsity  of  what  is 
said,  but  according  as  it  is  favourable  or  unfavourable  to 
their  wishes, — "Prophesy  unto  us  smooth  things  ;  prophesy 
unto  us  deceits."  A  similar  confusion  makes  men  dislike  the 
messenger  of  evil,  as  if  he  brought  upon  them  the  evil,  in- 
stead of  merely  bringing  them  the  knowledge  of  it. 

As  any  one  may  bring  himself  to  believe  almost  anything 
that  he  is  inclined  to  believe,  it  makes  all  the  difference 
Tvhetherwe  begin  or  end  with  the  enquiry,  "What  is  truth?" 

There  should  be  an  endeavor  to  preserve  the  indifference 
of  the  judgment,  even  in  cases  where  the  will  cannot,  and 
should  not,  be  indifferent. 

The  judgment  is  like  a  pair  of  scales,  and  evidences  like 
the  weights ;  but  the  will  holds  the  balances  in  its  hand ; 
and  even  a  slight  jerk  will  be  sufficient,  in  many  cases,  to 
make  the  lighter  scale  appear  the  heavier. 

Men  are  too  apt  to  ask,  as  the  first  question,  not  how  far 
each  doctrine  is  agreeable  to  Scripture^  but  to  themselves; 
not  whether  it  is  conformable  to  God's  will,  but  to  their  own. 

When  comparing  opinions  or  practices  with  the  standard 
of  God's  word,  we  must  beware,  lest  we  suffer  these  opinions 
8* 


30  BIAS    OF    JUDGMENT. 

or   practices   to   lend   the   rule   by  Avliich  they    are   to  bo 
measured. 

Some  persons  follow  tlie  dictates  of  tlicir  conscience,  only 
in  tlie  same  sense  in  ^vllicll  a  coachman  may  be  said  to  fol- 
low the  horses  he  is  driving. 

It  makes  all  the  difference,  -whether  we  pursue  a  certain 
course  because  we  judge  it  right ;  or  judge  it  to  be  right 
because  tve  puJ'sue  it. 

There  are  two  objects  which  he  who  seeks  is  almost  sure 
to  find — the  one  is,  the  knowledge  of  what  he  ought  to  do — 
the  other,  an  excuse  for  what  he  is  inclined  to  do. 

Inclination,  when  suffered  to  bias  the  judgment  in  embrac- 
ing conclusions,  acts  like  the  magnet  said  to  have  been  once 
secretly  placed  near  a  ship's  compass  by  a  traitor,  who,  pur- 
posing to  deliver  the  crew  into  the  enemy's  hands,  thus  made 
all  their  diligence  and  skill  only  serve  to  further  them  in  the 
wrong  course. 

There  is  no  absurdity  so  gross  which  men  Avill  not  readily 
admit,  if  it  appears  to  favour  a  conclusion  of  which  they 
are  already  convinced.  Even  a  candid  and  sensible  man,  is 
not  unlikely  to  be  misled  by  this,  to  use  arguments  which 
would  never  have  convinced  himself,  had  he  not  been  con- 
vinced before ;  and  are  not  likely  to  convince  others,  but 
rather  (by  the  operation  of  the  converse  fallacy)  to  confirm 
in  their  dissent  those  who  before  disagreed  with  him. 


*G' 


It  is  not  only  tlio  outward  profession,  but  the  real  convic- 
tions of  the  judgment,  that  are  liable  to  be  biassed  by  the 


BIAS    OF   JUDGMENT.  31 

influence  of  iutcvcst,  party  spirit,  or  other  improper  motives. 
'^A  gift,"  as  the  Scriptures  express  it,  "  blinds  the  eyes." 
Sincerity,  in  this  sense,  accordingly  —  (not  that  kind  which 
consists  in  the  exercise  of  an  unbiassed  judgment,  earnestly 
and  sincerely  endeavouring  to  ascertain  what  is  true,  and 
which  is  justly  regarded  as  so  commendable  a  quality  that 
many  and  great  errors  are  reckoned  pardonable,  in  propor- 
tion as  a  man  possesses  it ;)  but  sincerity  in  the  sense  of  un- 
feigned persuasion  that  wrong  is  right,  and  truth  falsehood — 
is  described  by  the  great  moralist  of  antiquity  as  the  last 
Btago  of  corruption. 

According  to  the  Hindoo  Law,  the  penalty  denounced 
against  a  particular  crime  is  remitted  only  in  case  of  the  in- 
ducement to  its  commission  being  the  present  of  an  elephant ; 
that  being  considered  a  douceur  too  magnificent  for  any  one 
to  be  expected  to  refuse.  Now,  in  Europe,  though  an  actual 
elephant  is  not  the  very  thing  that  offers  the  strongest  temp- 
tation, there  is  in  most  people's  conscience  something  analo- 
gous to  it,  and  different  things  are  "elephants"  to  different 
people.  It  is  well  for  every  man  to  be  on  the  look-out,  each 
for  his  own  "elephant." 

When  people  have  resolved  to  shut  their  eyes,  or  to  look 
onlj  on  one  side,  it  is  of  little  consequence  how  good  their 
eyes  may  be. 

Men  make  up  their  minds  before-hand,  and  assume,  with 
regard  to  any  reasons  brought  before  them,  the  office,  not  of 
a  judge,  but  of  an  advocate,  who  aims  at  drawing  out  of  each 
witness,  whatever  he  can  that  favours  his  own  side,  and 
cushioning  all  that  makes  against  him.  Thus  many  a  reader 
of  the  Bible  reads  it  through  coloured  glasses. 


32  BIAS   OF   JUDGMENT. 

The  generality  of  men  are  not  so  much  accustomed  to 
pursue  this  or  that  course,  in  consequence  of  their  previous 
conviction  that  it  is  right,  as  to  believe  that  it  is  right, 
because  they  have  been  accustomed  to  pursue  it. 

It  is  one  thing  to  pray  that  we  may  learn  tvhat  is  right; 
and  another  thing  to  pray  that  we  may  find  ourselves  in  the 
right. 

The  more  easy  of  belief  any  one  is,  in  respect  of  what 
falls  in  "with  his  -wishes  or  preconceived  notions,  the  harder 
of  belief  he  will  be,  of  anything  that  opposes  them : — there- 
fore tlie  testimony  of  the  early  disciples  of  Jesus  is  even  the 
stronger  from  their  prejudices  all  running  counter  to  their 
testimony. 

If  men  will  consult  the  Scriptures,  as  Balaam  enquired  of 
God,  with  a  secret  bias ;  not  acquiescing  at  once  in  the 
Divine  decision  but  trjang  once  more  "  what  the  Lord  will 
say,"  tlicy  will,  like  him,  be  indulged  in  finding  something 
more  conformable  to  their  sinful  wish ;  even  as  Balaam,  on 
his  second  application,  received  permission  to  "  go  with  the 
men,"  and  yet  "the  Lord's  anger  was  kindled  against  him 
because  he  went." 

Into  whatever  opinions  or  conduct  men  are  led  by  any 
human  propensities,  they  seek  to  defend  and  justify  them  by 
the  bcbt  arguments  they  can  frame  ;  and  then,  assign  (as  they 
often  do  in  perfect  sincerity)  these  arguments  as  the  cause 
of  their  adopting  such  notions,  whereas  they  are  in  reality 
the  effect.  Thus  tlie  chance  (however  small  it  may  be)  of 
rectifying  their  errors,  is  diminished.  For,  if  these  be  in  re- 
ality traceable  to  some  deep-seated  principle  of  our  nature, 


BIAS   OF   JUDGMENT.  33 

as  soon  as  one  false  foundation  on  ■wliicli  tlicy  have  been 
placed  is  removed,  anotlier  will  be  substituted  ;  as  soon  as  one 
theory  is  proved  untenable,  a  new  one  will  be  devised  in  its 
place.  Thus,  arguments,  even  the  strongest  and  the  clearest, 
will  usually  prove  too  weak  to  overthroAv  the  "  Idols  of  the 
Race"  {idola  tribus)  as  Bacon  calls  them:  —  the  errors 
springing  out  of  man's  nature. 

It  is  only  through  the  enlightening  and  supporting  grace 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  the  Scriptures  themselves  can  be 
consulted  with  advantage. 

While  carefully  guarding  against  the  judgment  being 
biassed  by  inclination,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  it  is  a 
great  mistake,  and  one  that  leads  to  important  practical 
error,  to  assume  that  all  people  believe  what  they  wish  for. 
It  is  quite  as  often  the  reverse :  thus,  we  find  men  some- 
times "believing  not  for  joy"  something  which  they  feel  a 
strong  desire  for ;  and  again,  sometimes  tormented  with 
groundless  alarms  of  something  which  they  much  dread ; 
with  excessive  doubt  in  cases  where  their  wishes  are  strong, 
— and  morbid  distrust  of  evidence  which  they  are  especially 
anxious  to  find  conclusive.  The  proverbial  expression  of 
"too  good  news  to  be  true,"  bears  witness  to  the  existence 
of  this  feeling. 

Some  writers  disparage  the  judgment  of  those  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  study  and  to  teach  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion, and  who  derive  hope  and  satisfaction  from  it,  on  the 
ground  that  they  must  wish  to  find  it  true ;  and  yet  the  very 
same  writers  pass  by  the  strong  testimony,  afforded  on  the 
same  principle,  by  the  multitudes  who  admit  the  truth    of 


o4  BIAS    OF   JUDGMENT. 

Christianity,  though  they  have  every  reason  to  Tnsh  it  untrue 
—  as  being  to  them  a  source  of  uneasiness  and  dismay. 

A  conclusion  may  be  safely  adopted,  though  in  accordanco 
■with  inclination,  provided  it  be  not  founded  upon  it. 

The  proper  office  of  candour  is  to  prepare  the  mind,  not, 
for  the  rejection  of  all  evidence,  but  for  the  right  reception 
of  evidence  ;  not  to  be  a  substitute  for  reasons,  but,  to  enable 
us  fairly  to  vreigh  the  reasons  on  both  sides.  To  say  other- 
wise is,  in  fact,  to  argue,  that  since  just  weights  alone,  with- 
out a  just  balance,  will  avail  nothing,  therefore,  we  have 
only  to  take  care  of  the  scales,  and  let  the  weights  take  care 
of  themselves. 

Declamations  are  current  in  the  present  day  against  the 
iniquity  of  giving  a  bias  to  tlic  minds  of  young  persons,  by 
teaching  them  our  own  interpretation  of  the  sacred  volume, 
instead  of  leaving  them  to  investigate  for  themselves ;  that 
is,  against  endeavoring  to  place  them  in  the  same  situation 
with  those  to  whom  those  very  Scriptures  were  written ; 
instead  of  leaving  them  to  struggle  with  difficulties  which  the 
Scriptures  no  where  contemplate  nor  provide  against.  The 
maintainors  of  such  a  principle  would  do  well  to  consider, 
wlictlicr  it  would  not,  if  consistently  pursued,  prove  too 
much.  Do  you  not,  it  might  be  asked,  bias  the  minds  of 
children  by  putting  into  their  hands  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves, as  the  infallible  word  of  God  ?  If  you  are  convinced 
that  they  are  so,  you  must  be  sure  that  they  will  stand  the 
test  of  unprejudiced  enquiry.  Are  you  not,  at  least,  bound 
in  fairness  to  teach  them  at  the  same  time,  the  systems  of 
ancient  mythology,  the  doctrines  of  the  Koran,  and  those  of 
modern  philosophers,  that  they  may  freely  choose  amongst 


AVERSION   TO    DOUBT.  '  35 

all  ?  Let  any  one  who  is  disposed  to  deride  the  absurdity 
of  such  a  proposal,  consider  whether  there  is  any  objection 
to  it,  which  would  not  equally  lie  against  the  exclusion  of 
systematic  religious  instruction,  or  indeed  systematic  training 
in  any  science  or  art.  It  would  follow  from  this  principle, 
that  no  physician  should  be  trusted  who  is  not  utterly  indif- 
ferent whether  his  patient  recovers  or  dies,  and  wholly  free 
from  any  favourable  hope  from  the  mode  of  treatment  pur- 
sued. 

The  more  awfully  important  any  question  is,  the  greater 
is  the  call  for  a  rigid  investigation  of  what  may  be  urged  on 
both  sides  ;  that  the  decision  may  be  made  on  sound,  rational, 
and  Scriptural  grounds,  and  not  according  to  the  dictates  of 
excited  feelings  and  imagination. 


IV.  Aversion  to  Doubt,  and  unnecessary  Delay  in 
Decision. 

An  aversion  to  doubt  —  a  dislike  of  having  the  judgment 
kept  in  suspense,  combined  with  indolence  in  investigation, 
induces  the  great  mass  of  mankind  to  make  up  their  minds 
on  a  variety  of  points,  not  one  of  which  they  have  been 
enabled  thoroughly  to  examine. 

Men,  in  thinking  only  of  what  they  are  running  from,  for- 
get what  they  are  running  towards. 

He  who  does  not  in  all  cases  prefer  doubt  to  the  reception 
of  falsehood,  or  to  the  admission  of  any  conclusion  on  insuffi- 


36  AVERSION   TO    DOUBT,    AND 

cient  evidence,  is  no  lover  of  truth,  nor  in  the  right  ATay  to 
attain  it  in  any  point. 

There  is  no  right  faith  in  believing  what  is  true,  unless  we 
believe  it  because  it  is  true. 

Men  grow  impatient  at  the  doubts  and  difficulties  which 
beset  the  operations  of  the  understanding.  But  if  errors 
spring  from  its  imperfection,  is  it  not  a  strange  remedy  to 
quicken  its  too  hurried  pace,  and  limit  its  too  narrow  powers  ? 
Would  any  choose  a  clerk  in  money  matters,  who,  puzzled 
by  a  long  and  intricate  calculation,  and  uncertain,  after  all 
his  care,  of  having  escaped  error,  should  boldly  efl'ace  the 
sum  total,  and  put  down  such  a  result  as  ought  in  his  opinion 
to  be  correct  ?  Such  is  the  theory  and  practice  of  what  is 
sadly  miscalled  Faith  in  many  minds.  Like  Jack  (in  Swift's 
profane  pasquinade)  they  have  mused  so  long  on  the  imper- 
fections of  eye-sight  and  the  mischief  of  optical  illusions,  that 
they  resolve  to  shut  their  eyes  entirely,  or,  at  least,  never  to 
venture  out  in  daylight. 

To  bid  a  man,  when  in  doubt  between  two  opposing  argu- 
ments, to  act  as  if  certain,  is  often  as  Aviso  as  it  is  necessary ; 
but  to  say  to  a  man  "  Because  you  are  in  doubt,  believe 
without  any  doubt,  for  this  is  safest  for  you,"  must  always 
bo  absurd.  Yet  the  pretence  of  the  greatest  safety  to  be 
found  in  a  Church  demanding  implicit  and  undoubting  belief 
in  all  it  teaches,  even  though  it  were  to  teach  that  black  is 
white,  is  what  catches  unthinking  persons  more  than  anything 
else. 

Men  may  succeed  in  saving  themselves  from  actual  doubt, 
without  delivcrini'  themselves  from  reasons  for  doubt. 


UNNECESSARY   DELAY   IN    DECISION.  37 

To  take  refuge  from  the  morbid  dread  of  uncertainty  in 
an  authority,  while  wilfully  blind  to  its  doubtfulness,  is,  to 
save,  as  it  Avcre,  the  ship  from  being  driven  about,  at  the 
mercy  of  winds  and  currents,  by  casting  anchor  on  an  object 
which  is  itself  floating. 

To  reject  one  side  of  a  question  on  perceiving  that  it  in- 
volves great  difficulties,  and  to  embrace  the  other  side  of  the 
alternative,  without  staying  to  examine  whether  there  are 
more  or  fewer  on  that  other  side,  is  as  if  a  traveller,  when  he 
had  the  choice  of  two  roads,  should,  immediately  on  perceiv- 
ing that  there  are  impediments  on  the  one,  decide  on  taking 
the  other,  before  he  had  ascertained  whether  it  were  even 
passable. 

It  is  a  common  practice  to  decide  at  once  against  any 
measure  that  may  appear  in  itself  objectionable,  in  cases 
where  there  is,  perhaps,  nothing  but  a  choice  of  difficulties 
before  us ;  as  when  the  throwing,  for  example,  of  a  valuable 
cargo  into  the  sea,  is  the  only  mode  left  of  saving  the  ship. 

A  choice  of  difficulties  seems  a  necessary  condition  of 
human  affiiirs.  For  it  perpetually  happens,  in  every  depart- 
ment of  life,  that  there  will  be  objections,  greater  or  less,  to 
each  of  any  possible  courses  before  us.  And  yet,  many  in- 
telligent persons  sit  down  quite  satisfied  that  they  have 
proved  their  point  when  they  have  shown  the  grave  objections 
to  one  course,  without  at  all  noticing  those  that  lie  against 
all  the  others ;  and  without  perceiving  that  they  are  in  the 
condition  alluded  to  in  the  Roman  proverb,  ''^  Lupiim  aurihiis 
teneo  ;"  when  it  is  difficult  and  hazardous  to  keep  one's  hold, 
and  eminently  hazardous  to  let  it  go. 

Suspension  of  judgment,  so  often  urged,  as  long  as  there 
4 


88  AVERSION   TO   DOUBT,   AND 

are  reasons  on  both  sides,  is  practicallj,  since  there  alwS.y3 
will  be  reasons  on  both  sides,  the  very  same  thing  as  a  de- 
cision in  favour  of  the  existing  state  of  tilings.  "Not  to  re- 
solve is  to  resolve."  Happy  it  is  for  mankind,  that,  in  many 
of  the  most  momentous  concerns  of  life,  their  decision  is 
generally  formed  for  them,  by  external  circumstances ; 
which  thus  saves  them,  not  only  from  the  perplexity  of  doubt 
and  the  danger  of  delay,  but  also  from  the  pain  of  regret ; 
since  we  acquiesce  much  more  cheerfully  in  that  which  ia 
unavoidable. 

The  main,  and  almost  the  universal,  fallacy  of  Anti- 
christians  is,  in  showing  that  there  are  objections  against 
Christianity,  and  thence  inferring  that  it  should  be  rejected ; 
when  that  which  ought  to  have  been  proved  is,  that  there  are 
mo7'e  or  stronger  objections  against  the  receiving  than  the  re- 
jecting of  it.  At  the  first  announcement  of  the  Gospel,  when 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  claimed  to  be  the  promised  Deliverer,  in 
whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed,  the  burden 
of  proof  lay  with  Ilim.  No  one  could  be  fairly  called  on  to 
admit  Ilis  pretensions,  till  lie  showed  cause  for  believing  in 
Ilim.  If  "  He  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which  none 
other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin."  Now  the  case  is  re- 
versed, and  the  religion  exists,  that  is  tlie  phenomenon ; 
those  who  will  not  allow  it  to  have  come  from  God,  are  bound 
to  solve  it  on  some  other  hypothesis  less  open  to  objections. 
Infidels,  when  supposing  it  to  have  been  a  human  contriv- 
ance, not  established  l)y  miracles,  are  bound  to  give  an  ex- 
planation of  the  still  greater  miracle — its  having  arisen  and 
prevailed  as  it  did,  in  defiance  of  all  opposition — forcing  men 
of  all  ranks  and  of  all  nations  to  disown  the  gods  of  their 
ancestors,  and  to  adore  a  Jewish  peasant,  who  had  been  cut 
off  by  the  most  ignominious  death.     This  explanation  they 


UNNECESSARY   DELAY   IN   DECISION.  39 

have  never  given,  though  they  have  had  1800  years  to  try ; 
and  thus  they  have  tacitly  confessed,  that  no  hypothesis  can 
be  devised  which  will  not  be  open  to  greater  objections  than 
lie  against  Christianity. 

There  may  be  objections  which  none  can  answer,  and 
others  which  the  unlearned  cannot,  of  themselves,  be  ex- 
pected at  once  to  ansAver,  against  conclusions  which,  yet, 
may  be  fairly  established  by  a  preponderance  of  evidence ; 
by  positive  proofs  that  have  more  force  than  the  objections, 
even  if  left  unanswered.  "  There  are  objections,"  said  Dr. 
Johnson,  "  against  a  plenum,  and  objections  against  a  va- 
cuum ;  but  one  of  them  must  be  true." 

Disbelieving  is  believing ;  since  to  disbelieve  any  assertion 
is  to  believe  its  contradictory ;  and  whoever  does  this  on 
slight  grounds  is  both  credulous  and  incredulous;  these 
being,  in  fact,  one  and  the  same  habit  of  mind.  This, 
though  self-evident,  is  frequently  lost  sight  of,  owing  to  the 
employing  in  reference  to  the  Christian  religion  the  words, 
"Believer  and  unbeliever;"  Avhence,  unthinking  persons  are 
led  to  take  for  granted,  that  the  rejection  of  Christianity 
implies  less  easy  belief  than  its  reception.  Whereas,  in  re- 
ality, the  infidel  shows  greater  credulity  than  the  Christian. 
The  Christian  believes  that  miracles  took  place  in  the  setting 
up  of  Christianity,  but  assigns  a  sufficient  cause  for  those 
wonderful  events — namely,  the  Almighty  power  of  God  ;  and 
a  sufficient  reason  for  His  exertion  of  that  power  —  namely, 
to  attest  a  divine  Revelation.  They,  on  the  contrary,  sup- 
pose that  all  the  best  established  laws  of  the  human  mind 
were  violated,  and  that  men,  in  this  one  case,  acted  differ- 
ently from  the  way  in  which  they  act  in  every  other,  while 
yet  they  are  unable  to  assign  any  probable  cause,  or  any 


40  AVERSION  TO   DOUBT,    AND 

specious  reason  for  such  an  astounding  miracle.  And  no  one 
should  make  a  boast  of  his  "incredulity"  in  disbelieving 
something  that  is  very  strange,  while  he  is  believing,  as  the 
only  alternative,  something  incomparably  more  strange. 

Divine  Providence  seems  to  have  designed  that  men  should 
not  be  forced  into  belief  of  Revelation,  by  evidence  which, 
like  that  of  geometrical  demonstration,  should  leave  no  dis- 
tinction between  the  well-disposed  and  the  ill-diposcd. 

Three  great  requisites  for  decision  are  within  the  reach  of 
ordinary  men,  as  well  as  of  the  most  learned  and  able.  (1.) 
A  sincere  desire  to  attain  Truth  in  order  to  regulate  opinions 
and  conduct  by  it  alone  ;  (2.)  pure  moral  principle;  and  (3.) 
attentive  study  and  calm  enquiry.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to 
form  an  opinion,  but  do  not  unnecessarily  put  it  off.  Do  not 
decide  without  inquiry,  but  do  not,  in  order  to  avoid  decid- 
ing, omit  enquiry. 

Some  men  sec  no  medium  between  a  claim  to  infallibility 
on  the  one  hand,  and  universal  hesitation  —  absolute  scepti- 
cism— on  the  other.  An  appeal  to  the  common  sense  which 
every  man  exercises  on  all  hut  religious  subjects,  might  bo 
suflBcient  to  prove,  not  only  the  absurdity  of  this  reasoning, 
but  their  own  conviction  of  its  absurdity.  Sensible  men, 
every  day,  decide  questions  in  Medicine,  in  Agriculture,  in 
Navigation,  with  suiBcient  confidence  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, yet  without  holding  themselves  to  be  infallilile. 

A  confident  expectation  tliat  no  argument  will  be  adduced 
that  will  change  our  opinions,  is  very  difl'erent  from  a  resolu- 
tion that  none  ever  sludl  AVe  may  i)rint  but  not  stereotype 
our  opinions. 


UNNECESSARY   DELAY   IN   DECISION.  41 

He  that  is  not  open  to  conviction,  is  not  qualified  for  dis- 
cussion. 

We  must  always  think  our  opinions  are  right ;  but  not 
think  our  opinions  are  right  always. 

Misgive  that  you  may  not  mistake. 

Though  not  always  called  upon  to  condemn  ourselves,  it  is 
always  safe  to  suspect  ourselves. 

As  a  consciousness  of  peccability  in  moral  conduct  loads 
us  to  utter  with  sincerity  the  words,  "  who  can  tell  how  oft 
he  offendeth  ?  Oh  !  cleanse  Thou  me  from  my  secret  faults," 
— the  consciousness  of  peccability  in  judgment  should  make 
us  equally  ready  to  add,  "who  can  tell  how  oft  he  mis- 
taketh?" 

To  examine  and  re-examine  —  to  reason  and  reflect  —  to 
hesitate  and  decide  with  caution  —  to  be  always  open  to 
evidence, — and  to  acknowledge  that  after  all  we  are  liable  to 
error ; — all  this  is  unacceptable  to  the  human  mind — both  to 
its  diffidence  and  to  its  pride ; — to  its  indolence,  its  dread  of 
anxious  cares — and  to  its  love  of  self-satisfied  and  confident 
repose. 

As  the  skilful  and  cautious  navigator  incurs  no  risk  from 
hoping  that  the  reckoning  he  carefully  keeps  will  prove  cor- 
rect, so  long  as  he  never  so  far  trusts  to  it  as  not  to  "  keep 
a  look-out,"  and  to  "take  an  observation"  when  opportunity 
ofiers ;  so,  the  earnest  and  diligent  seeker  after  Truth  who 
acts  on  his  convictions  as  if  he  were  certain  of  their  being 

correct,  and  examines  and  re-examines  the  grounds  of  them, 
4i. 


42  SUPPOSED   EAPPT   MEDIUM. 

as  if  he  suspected  tliem  of  being  erroneous,  need  not  fear, 
but  that  in  proportion  as  he  is  watchfully  and  prayerfully  on 
his  guard  against  the  unseen  current  of  passions  and  pre- 
judices -which  is  ever  tending  to  drive  him  out  of  the  right 
course,  in  the  same  degree  vfill  he  succeed  in  attaining  all 
necessary  religious  truths.  For  this  self-distrust,  this  per- 
petual care,  and  diligent  -watchfulness,  and  openness  to  con- 
viction, arc  so  far  from  necessarily  implying  a  state  of  pain- 
ful and  unceasing  doubt,  that  as  they  furnish  the  best  safe- 
guard against  error,  so  they  afford  the  best  grounds  for  a 
cheering  hope  of  having  attained  truth.  For,  as  long  as  the 
lover  of  Truth  exercises  this  caution, — so  long  as  he  is  open 
to  enquiry  and  incessantly  ready  to  try  every  religions  ques- 
tion by  Scripture  and  by  reason, — so  long  he  will  have  been 
making  that  use  of  all  his  advantages,  natural  and  super- 
natural, -which  Divine  -wisdom  evidently  designed :  so  long, 
he  -will  have  been  doing  his  utmost  to  conform  to  the  will  of 
God ;  and  so  long,  consequently,  he  shall  have  the  better 
reason  for  cherishing  an  humble  hope  that  lie,  *'  the  Spirit 
of  Truth,"  is,  and  will  be,  with  him,  to  enlighten  his  under- 
standing, to  guide  his  conduct,  and  to  load  him  onwards  to 
that  state  in  which  Faith  shall  be  succeeded  by  sight,  and 
Hope,  by  enjoyment. 


V.  Desire  of  a  Supposed  Happy  Medium. 

It  is  a  truism,  but  one  often  practically  forgotten,  that 
there  is  no  medium  between  trutli  and  f;ilsehood. 

Tlic  golden  mean,  and  avoiding  of  extremes,  upon  which 
some  pride  themselves  may  be  but  an  attempt  to  stop  short 


SUPPOSED   HAPPY   MEDIUM.    *  48 

between  the  p7'cmises  and  the  conclusion  ;  a  medium  botTV'cen 
the  abandonment  of  a  false  iwinciple  and  the  adoption  of  all 
its  legitimate  consequences. 

The  real  medium  of  rectitude  is  not  to  be  attained  by 
geometrical  measurement.  The  varieties  of  human  error 
have  no  power  to  fix  the  exact  place  of  truth.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  happens  in  respect  of  religion  as  well  as  in  all  other 
subjects,  that  each  one  of  two  parties  will  maintain  some 
things  that  are  perfectly  true  and  right,  and  others  that  are 
wholly  wrong  and  mischievous ;  and  that,  in  other  points 
again,  the  one  party  or  the  other,  will  be  much  the  more 
remote  from  the  truth.  So  that  any  one  who  studies  to  keep 
himself  in  every  point  just  half-way  between  two  contending 
parties,  will  probably  be  as  often  in  the  wrong  as  either  of 
them. 

The  vulgar  are  apt  to  conclude  that  where  a  great  deal  is 
said,  something  must  be  true ;  and  adopting  that  lazy  con- 
trivance for  saving  the  trouble  of  thinking,  splitting  the  dif- 
ference, imagine  they  show  a  laudable  caution  in  believing 
only  part  of  what  is  said.  This  is  to  be  as  simple  as  the 
clown  who  thinks  he  has  bought  a  great  bargain  of  a  Jew, 
because  he  has  beat  down  the  price  from  a  guinea  to  a  crown 
for  some  article  that  is  not  really  worth  a  groat. 

One  may  often  hear  it  observed  that  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  truth  in  what  such  a  one  has  said :  i.  e.,  perhaps  it  is  all 
true  except  one  esssential  point. 

The  weak,  the  uncamlid,  and  the  unthinking  often  con- 
gratulate themselves  on  having  attained  that  happy  medium 
between  opposite   extremes  in  which,  they  have  been  tohl. 


44  THE   LOVE   OF   SYSTEM. 

wisdom  consists ;  while  they  have  only  attained  the  mimic 
■wisdom  of  sliding  alternately  into  each  extreme;  and  instead 
of  being  led  by  neither  party,  are  actually  being  led  by  both. 
A  man  whose  orbit  is  really  independent,  will  find  it  coincide 
in  what  astronomers  call  Nodes  —  sometimes  with  one,  and 
sometimes  with  another  orbit. 


VI.  The  Love  of  System. 

There  is  no  more  common  error  in  many  departments  of 
study,  and  especially  in  Theology,  than  the  prevalence  of  a 
love  of  system  over  the  love  of  truth.  Men  are  often  so  much 
captivated  by  the  aspect  of  what  seems  to  them  a  regular, 
beautiful,  and  well-connected  theory,  as  to  adopt  it  hastily, 
without  enquiring  in  the  outset  how  far  it  is  conformable  to 
facts,  or  to  Scriptural  authority ;  and  thus,  often  on  one  or 
two  passages  of  Scripture,  have  built  up  an  ingenious  and 
consistent  scheme,  of  which  the  far  greater  part  is  a  tissue 
of  their  own  reasonings  and  conjectures. 

The  love  of  system  leads  to  a  confounding  of  the  essential 
and  important,  with  Avhat  is,  in  reality,  totally  unconnected 
with  it.  The  whole  system  of  faith  of  some,  may  be  compared 
to  some  of  the  ancient  compound  medicines,  of  great  efficacy 
and  value,  though  cumbered  with  several  drugs  that  are 
utterly  inert.  Many  practitioners,  unskilled  in  analysis, 
cannot  conceive  but  that  the  success  with  which  the  compound 
is  often  administered,  is  a  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  each 
ingredient,  and  of  the  absurdity  of  thinking  to  separate  them. 


THE   LOVE   OP   SYSTEM.  45 

The  mode  in  •which  tlicological  knowledge  is  too  commonly 
taught,  is  from  uninspired  writers,  who  interiveave  indeed,  in 
their  works  much  of  Scripture,  but  make  this  rather  a  com- 
mentary on  their  system^  than  the  basis  and  substratum  on 
which  they  are  to  comment.  They  are  apt  to  make  a  human 
system  the  ivarp  instead  of  the  woof ;  Avhereas  the  proper 
course  would  be  to  reverse  that  procedure — to  take  Scripture 
as  the  warp,  and  interweave  their  own  remarks,  explanations 
and  applications. 

The  more  the  Scriptures  are  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  regu- 
larly formed  philosophic  system,  the  greater  will  be  the  dis- 
position to  find  in  them  a  regular  technical  vocabulary ;  for 
any  system  appears  the  more  complete  and  distinct  from  all 
others,  when  provided  with  a  distinct,  regular,  technical 
phraseology,  like  a  corporate  body,  with  its  coat  of  arms  and 
motto. 

The  adhering  too  closely  to  any  fixed  set  of  expressions, 
in  religious  jliscussions,  has  a  tendency  to  deaden  men's  at- 
tention to  the  things  signified ;  and,  by  leading  them  to  mis- 
take words  for  things,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  erroneous 
theories.  The  Sacred  Writers  aimed  at  no  philosophical  re- 
gularity of  language,  and  the  terms  used  by  them  are  to  be 
understood,  not  according  to  a  precise,  scientific  definition, 
but  each  with  reference  to  the  context  of  the  place  where  it 
is  found. 

The  technical  terms  of  the  various  systems  of  philosophi- 
cal theology,  are  more  numerous  than  those  of  almost  any 
science,  and  wei'e  in  many  instances  taken  from  the  sacred 
writers  —  taken  from  them,  in  every  acn^Q  of  the  phrase; 
since  hardly  any  theologian  confined  himself  to  their  use  of 


46  THE   LOVE   OF   SYSTEM. 

the  terms.  The  materials  indeed,  are  the  stones  of  the 
Tomplc :  hut  the  hiiilding  constructed  -with  them  is  a  fahric 
of  human  contrivance. 

A  regular  compact  system  of  theology,  professedly  com- 
piled from  Scripture,  tends  to  foster  that  neglect  of  the  study 
of  Scripture,  that  avcrseness  to  labour  in  the  investigation 
of  truth, — that  indolent,  unenquiring  acquiescence  in  what  is 
ready  prepared  for  acceptance  in  the  lump,  — to  which  man 
is  by  nature  so  much  disposed ;  and  which  the  structure  of 
the  Christian  Scriptures  seems  to  have  been  expressly  de- 
signed to  guard  against,  by  requiring  that  one  passage 
should  be  compared  with  another,  and  instruction  elicited 
from  scattered,  oblique,  and  incidental  references  to  various 
doctrines. 

The  arguments  and  systems  which  have  been  reared  by 
words  mistaken  for  things,  remind  one  of  the  fog-banks, 
which,  at  sea,  so  often  delude  the  anxious  mariner ;  ho 
fancies  himself  within  view  of  new  coasts  with  promontories, 
and  bays,  and  mountains  distinctly  discernible  ;  but  a  nearer 
approach,  and  a  more  steady  observation,  prove  the  whole  to 
be  but  an  unsubstantial  vapour,  ready  to  melt  away  into  air, 
and  vanish  for  ever. 

The  lover  of  Truth  without  any  bias  in  favour  of  any 
theory,  however  ingenious  and  consistent,  must  "prove  all 
things  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good  ;"  —  and  must  admit 
no  conclusion  which  is  not  itself,  as  well  as  the  premises  it  is 
drawn  from,  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.  "  Sir,"  (said 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Reformers)  "  I  dare  speak 
no  further,  yea,  almost  none  otherwise  than  as  the  Scripture 
doth  as  it  were  lead  me  by  the  hand." 


DREAD   OF   INCONSISTENCY.  47 


VII.  Dread  of  the  Character  of  Inconsistency. 

The  dread  of  Inconsistency  must  never  be  suffered  to 
swallow  up  the  dread  of  error. 

It  is  mere  idle  declamation  about  consistency,  to  represent 
it  as  a  disgrace  to  a  man  to  confess  himself  wiser  to-day 
than  yesterday.  There  is  no  inconsistency  at  all  in  declaring 
that  we  have  seen  reason  to  alter  our  opinion.  The  term 
should  be  confined  to  a  man's  holding,  expressly  or  impliedly, 
contrary  opinions  at  the  same  time,  or,  as  the  phrase  is, 
"looking  one  way  and  roAving  another." 

A  man  is  often  charged  with  inconsistency  for  accommo- 
dating his  judgment  or  his  conduct  to  the  circumstances 
before  him,  as  the  mariner  sets  his  sails  to  the  wind ;  though 
in  many  instances  the  inconsistency  would  be  in  the  opposite 
proceeding, — in  not  shifting  the  sails  when  the  wind  changes. 

As  every  man,  who  is  not  infallible,  is  liable  to  some 
errors,  he  virtually  lays  claim  to  infallibility,  who  prides 
himself  on  his  consistency,  on  the  ground  of  resolving  never 
to  change  his  opinions  or  plans ;  unless,  indeed,  he  qualifies 
that  claim  by  proclaiming  himself  either  too  dull  to  detect 
his  mistakes,  or  too  obstinate  to  own  them. 

Many  a  man  is  censured  as  inconsistent,  whom  it  would  be 
more  proper  to  characterize  as  fickle  and  unsteady. 

It  is  much  easier  to  boast  of  consistency  than  to  preserve 
it.  For  as  in  the  dark,  or  in  a  fog,  adverse  troops  may  take 
post  near  each  other  without  mutual  recognition,  and  conse- 


48  DKEAD   OF   IXCONSISTENCy. 

quently  -without  contest,  but  as  soon  as  daylight  comes  tho 
^VL'akol•  gives  place  to  the  stronger ;  so,  in  a  misty  and  dark- 
ened mind,  the  most  incompatible  opinions  may  exist  together 
without  any  perception  of  their  discrepancy,  till  the  under- 
standing becomes  suiliciently  enlightened  to  enable  the  man 
to  reject  the  less  reasonable  opinions,  and  retain  the  op- 
posites.       ** 

To  censure  a  man  as  inconsistent  when  he  alters  his  course 
of  proceeding,  his  language,  his  opinions,  &c.,  in  conformity 
with  a  change  of  circumstances,  is  to  censure  him  for  that 
which  must  be  continually  practised  by  every  one  who  is  not 
insane  ;  —  to  censure  him  for  changing  his  mind  on  finding 
himself  mistaken,  though  circumstances  remain  the  same,  ia 
to  censure  him  for  what  ought  to  be  practised  by  every  one 
who  is  not  infallible  ;  —  and  to  censure  him  for  holding  con- 
ti'ary  opinions  at  the  same  time,  though  this, — and  this  only 
—  may  strictly  and  properly  be  called  inconsistency,  and 
ought  sedulously  to  be  avoided,  is  to  misapply  the  censure, 
which  would  be  better  directed,  not  against  the  inconsistency 
of  his  notions  with  each  other,  but  for  the  erroneousness  of 
those  which  are  erroneous.  The  consistency  with  each  other, 
of  opinions  that  are  all  wrong,  is  far  enough  from  improving 
the  case. 

As  no  one  should  be  censured  for  Inconsistency,  so  no  one 
should  be  praised  for  Consistency;  because  where  there  is 
ground  for  eitlier  censure  or  praise,  some  better  reason  for  it 
may  always  be  assigned. 

Tlic  maintaing  of  Consistency  must  always  be  a  bad  rea- 
son to  give  for  any  act  or  opinion :  if  a  prhiciple  or  measure 
is  right,  that  surely  is  reason  enough  for  supporting  it ;  if 


SUrPRESSION    OF    TUE    EXERCISE    OF    REASON.  49 

wrong,  surely  the  being  in  the  wrong  yesterday  is  a  bad  rea- 
son for  being  wrong  to-day. 


VIIL  Suppression  of  the  Exercise  of  Reason. 

As  the  Telescope  is  not  a  substitute  for,  but  an  aid  to,  our 
sight ;  so,  Revelation  is  not  designed  to  supersede  the  use 
of  reason,  but  to  supply  its  deficiencies. 

It  is  the  characteristic  of  Truth  to  bear  discussion. 

Those  who  deprecate  the  asking  or  giving  a  reason  for 
their  faith,  must  not  Avonder  if  it  be  supposed  that  they  have 
a  faith  for  which  there  is  no  reason. 

If  a  man  once  comes  to  doubt  of  what  he  had  been  ac- 
customed to  take  for  granted,  he  will  reject  it. 

Unless  reason  be  employed  in  ascertaining  what  doctrines 
are  revealed,  humility  cannot  be  exercised  in  acquiescing  in 
them. 

Those  who,  in  accordance  with  the  apostolic  injunction,  are 
"ready  to  give  a  reason  of  the  faith  that  is  in  them,"  will 
be  also  ready  to  hear  reason. 

There  is  a  kind  of  believer  in  religion,  who  wishes  to  be- 
lieve, from  a  conviction  that  religion  is  a  desirable  sentiment 
to  cherish ;  and  resolves  never  to  enquire  whether  it  is  true, 
from  a  suspicion  that  the  enquiry  might  prove  fatal. 
5 


50  SUPPRESSION    OF   THE    EXERCISE   OF    REASON. 

Many  people  are  led  into  the  error  of  fancying  that  an 
irrational  faith  is  even  firmer  than  a  rational  one,  by  mistak- 
ing for  a  firm  belief,  a  firm  resolution  of  the  will  to  believe. 
They  seem  to  imagine  that  faith  can  be  made  firm  only  by  a 
sort  of  brute  force  upon  the  understanding,  and  by  hroiv- 
heathu/,  as  it  were,  their  own  minds,  and  those  of  others, 
into  implicit  submission.  Now  you  never  see  traces  of  this 
kind  of  violence  in  the  case  of  other  truths  which  men  really 
believe  most  firmly.  You  never  hear  a  man  protesting  with 
great  vehemence,  that  he  is  convinced  that  the  angles  of  a 
triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles,  or  that  the  earth  is 
round  like  a  ball,  and  not  flat,  like  a  platter ;  and  denouncing 
all  who  cannot  see  the  proof.  Good  proof  satisfies  the  mind 
of  itself,  and  excludes  reasonable  doubt  without  any  violent 
efi'ort.  When  you  arc  sure  that  the  door  is  strong  enough  to 
keep  out  the  intruder,  you  sit  quietly  by  your  fireside,  and 
let  him  kick  his  heels  against  it  till  he  is  tired.  But  if  you 
rushed  over  and  clapped  your  back  and  shoulders  to  the  bolt, 
that  would  imply  that  the  door  is  really  weak,  or,  at  least 
that  your  faith  in  it  is  weak ;  —  that  is,  that  you  had  not  full 
confidence  in  its  strength. 

A  clear  or  faint  apprehension  of  the  subject  matter,  and  a 
clear  or  faint  apprehension  of  the  evidence  of  it,  are  two 
things  totally  different  and  entirely  unconnected,  yet  often 
confounded  in  what  pertains  to  religion,  though  never,  by 
any  one  of  ordinary  good  sense,  in  any  subject  where  religion 
is  not  concerned.  For  instance, — there  is,  I  suppose,  no  one 
who  seriously  doubts  the  existence  of  something  which  we 
call  soul — or  mind — be  it  substance  or  attribute,  material  or 
immaterial — and  of  the  mutual  connexion  between  it  and  the 
body.  Yet  how  very  faint  and  imperfect  a  notion  it  is  that 
we  can  form  of  it,  and  of  many  of  its  phenomena  that  arc  of 


SUPPRESSION    OP   THE    EXERCISE    OF    REASON.  51 

daily  occurrence !  The  partial  suspension  of  mental  and 
bodily  functions  during  sleep, — tlie  effects  of  opium  and  other 
drugs  on  both  body  and  mind, — the  influence,  exercised  by 
volition,  and  by  various  mental  emotions,  on  the  muscles, 
and  on  other  parts  of  the  bodily  frame, — and  many  other  of 
these  phenomena,  have  exercised  for  ages  the  ingenuity  of 
the  ablest  men,  to  find  even  any  approximation  towards  but 
an  imperfect  explanation  of  them.  Yet  the  evidence  on  which 
tve  believe  in  (he  reality  of  these,  and  of  many  other  things 
no  less  dimly  and  partially  understood,  is  perfect. — On  the 
other  hand,  the  characters,  transactions,  &c.,  represented  by 
dramatic  -writers,  or  described  by  historians,  are  often  as 
clearly  intelligible  as  it  is  possible  for  anything  to  be;  yet 
from  the  total  want  of  evidence,  or  from  the  want  of  clear 
and  decisive  evidence,  as  to  their  reality,  we  regard  them  as 
either  entire  fictions,  or  mixtures  of  fable  and  truth,  or  as 
more  or  less  likely  to  have  actually  existed.  The  character 
and  conduct  of  Lear,  for  instance,  or  Othello,  or  Hamlet,  or 
Macbeth,  arc  perfectly  intelligible  ;  though  it  is  very  doubt- 
ful how  far  the  tales  which  suggested  to  Shakespeare  the 
most  of  his  dramas  had  any  foundation  in  fact,  or  were 
originally  fictitious.  Many,  again,  of  the  orations  recorded 
by  the  ancient  Greek  and  Roman  historians,  are  as  easily  and 
plainly  to  be  understood  as  any  that  are  reported  in  our 
own  times ;  but  in  what  degree  each  of  these  is  a  faithful 
record  of  what  was  actually  s])okcn,  is  a  point  on  which  we 
have,  in  some  cases,  a  slight  and  imperfect  evidence  ;  and  in 
others,  none  that  deserves  the  name. — Now,  Religion  does 
not,  in  this  respect,  really  ditTer  from  otlier  subjects.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  find  that  the  evidence  for  the  Christian  religion 
was  perfect  and  distinct,  though  its  character  was  imperfectly 
understood  by  those  to  whom  it  was  first  preached  ;  and  that, 
dim,  and  indistinct,  and  imperfect,  a?  Averc  still  their  notions 


62  6UPPRESSI0X   OF   THE   EXERCISE   OF   REASON. 

(as  to  a  great  degree  ours  must  also  be)  concerning  "  tLe  Son 
of  Goil,"  it  was  no  indistinct  or  imperfect  evidence  on  ■\vliich 
they  believed  that  He  teas  so ;  -while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
character  and  pretensions  of  the  false  Christs,  who  afterwards 
arose,  were  readily  understood ;  but  Avere  supported  by  no 
evidence  that  could  satisfy  an  unprejudiced  mind,  bent  on 
the  attainment  of  truth. 

The  representing  all  appeal  to  reason,  as  useless  in  cases 
where  the  argumentative  faculty  is  not  alone  sufficient,  is  like 
denying  the  utility  of  light,  because  it  will  not  enable  a  man 
to  see,  whose  eyes  are  not  in  a  state  to  perform  their  func- 
tions. 

To  decline  beginning  at  all,  because  we  must  begin  in 
imperfection,  is  to  say,  that  since  veteran  soldiers  only  are 
well  fitted  to  perform  their  part,  therefore,  none  but  veterans 
should  be  brought  into  the  field. 

Our  indistinct  conceptions  of  a  truth,  affect  not  the  reality 
of  its  existence,  any  more  than  things,  because  seen  dimly  in 
the  dark,  become  in  themselves  the  less  substantial. 

As  the  prudent  traveller,  compelled  to  journey  in  tlic 
twilight, — Mhilc  ever  mindful  of  the  risk  of  straying  from  the 
path  and  forming  false  judgments  of  the  country  round, 
viewed  by  the  imperfect  light, — yet,  in  his  natural  wish,  that 
the  sun  would  rise,  neglects  not  to  make  the  host  use  he  can 
of  his  eyes,  in  the  fiuut  glimmering  that  is  allowed  him ;  so, 
the  wise  Christian  will  not  be  led,  by  his  conviction  of  the 
limited  and  imperfect  nature  of  the  human  faculties,  to 
slacken  or  remit,  as  vain,  his  enquiries. 


supriiEssiON  or  the  exehcisk  of  heason.  53 

Truth  is  a  steady  thing,  and  acts  steadily  througli  the  rea- 
son, by  the  weight  of  evidence.  To  rest  upon  men's  fancies 
and  feelings  only,  is  to  work  upon  that  which  flags  and  be- 
comes sluggish  when  not  continually  roused  by  fresh  excite- 
ment; just  as  a  drunkard  is  tempted  to  drink  more  deeply 
every  day,  from  finding  that  his  constitution  needs  the  sti- 
mulant more  and  more. 

There  is  surely  as  much  presumption  in  measuring  every- 
thing by  our  own  feelings,  fancies,  and  prejudices,  as  by  our 
own  reasonings. 

Fancy,  when  once  brought  into  religion,  knows  not  where 
to  stop.  It  is  like  one  of  those  fiends  in  old  stories  which 
any  one  could  raise,  but  which,  when  raised,  could  never  be 
kept  within  the  magic  circle. 

Those  who  distrust  all  exercise  of  the  intellect,  while  re- 
signing themselves  freely  to  the  guidance  of  what  they  call 
the  heart,  that  is,  their  prejudices,  passions,  inclinations,  and 
fancies,  would  do  well  to  remember  that  the  disciples  were 
led  by  the  dictates  of  a  sound  understanding  to  say,  "No 
man  can  do  these  miracles  ....  except  God  be  with  him," 
and  then  to  believe  and  obey  Jesus  implicitly;  but  that 
Peter  was  led  by  his  heart  to  say,  "  Be  it  far  from  thee, 
Lord ;  this  shall  not  be  unto  thee." 

Each  part  of  our  nature  should  be  duly  controlled,  and 
kept  within  its  own  proper  province  ;  and  the  whole  "  brought 
into  subjection  to  Christ,"  and  dedicated  to  Him.  But  there 
is  no  real  Christian  humility — though  there  be  debasement — 
in  renouncing  the  exercise  of  human  reason,  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  human  feeling.  The  Apostle's  precept  is,  ''  in. 
malice  be  ye  children,  but  in  understanding  be  men." 
5* 


54  ABUSE    OP   REASON. 

The  voluntary  liumiliation  of  those  who  are  ever  declahn- 
in<T  ac^ainst  the  pride  of  human  reason,  and  insisting  on  the 
necessity  of  being  guided  by  the  heart  rather  than  the  head, 
is  a  prostration  not  of  themselves  before  God,  but  of  one 
part  of  themselves  before  another  part,  and  resembles  the 
idolatry  of  the  Israelites  in  the  -wilderness.  The  people 
stripped  themselves  of  their  golden  ornaments,  and  cast  them 
into  the  fire,  "and  there  came  out  this  calf." 

That  faith  which  is  counted  for  righteousness,  consists  not 
in  believing  wltliout  evidence,  but  in  being  open  to  evidence ; 
not  in  believing  without  good  reason,  but  in  listening  to 
reason. 


IX.  Abuse  of  Reason. 

Reason  can  never  be  better  employed  than  in  deciding 
where  her  operations  must  be  stopped. — 

"  Xesclro  velle  quae  magister  optimus 
Docere  non  vult,  erudita  inscitia  est." 

"When  once  it  has  been  ascertained  that  a  Divine  revela- 
tion exists,  our  own  speculations  ought  to  be  controlled  and 
regulated  by  that  revelation ;  they  sliould  never  be  suffered 
to  range,  unlimited  and  unassisted,  on  a  subject  on  Avhich 
God  has  himself  decided  that  man  Is  not  competent,  of  liim- 
self,  to  judge  rightly.  If  Reason  be  entliroucd  as  the  jmlgc 
and  law-giver,  she  will  not  readily  resign  her  seat  and  sub- 
mit her  decisions  to  Revelation. 

There  are  two  mistakes  wliich  have  an  especial  tendency 
to  lead  to  presum])tuous  speculation,  one  of  the  chief  sources 


ABUSE   OF   REASON.  55 

of  error  in  theological  and  metaphysical  discussions : — first, 
the  expectation,  oftentimes  illgrounded,  thatyuU  and  distinct 
notions  may  be  obtained  of  Avhatever  is  revealed  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  secondly,  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  we  under- 
stand more  clearly  than  we  do,  any  thing  of  which  the  name 
is  very  familiar  to  us :  a  mistake  like  that  of  him  who,  be- 
cause a  letter  of  the  alphabet  is  employed  in  algebraical 
calculations  to  denote  some  unknown  quantity,  should  sup- 
pose that,  by  this  means,  it  becomes  at  once  a  knoivn 
quantity. 

It  is  not  that  one  of  the  philosophical  theories  that  have 
been  introduced  to  explain  the  Christian  dispensation  is 
■wrong  for  this  reason,  and  another  for  that,  but  they  are  all 
wrong  alike ;  because  they  are  theories  relative  to  matters 
on  which  to  form  any  philosophical  theories  whatever,  is 
vain,  and  absurd,  and  irreverent : 

"  Unus  utriquo 
Error;  sed  variis  illudit  partibus." 

It  is  well  worth  while  to  remark  the  manner  in  which  each 
form  of  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit"  is  opposed  by  the 
sacred  writers,  and  by  John  in  particular.  Suppose  a  plain 
man  to  have  been  listening  to  a  great  deal  of  ingenious, 
speculative  conjecture  as  to  what  must  be,  or  are  likely  to  be, 
the  climate,  condition,  and  productions  of  a  certain  distant 
country,  and  to  reply,  "  I  know,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  and 
can  bear  witness,  that  none  of  these  things  are  as  you  say, 
for  I  am  intimate  Avith  a  person,  whom  you  know  to  bo  of 
unquestioned  knowledge  and  credibility,  Avho  is  a  native  of 
that  country ;  I  have  conversed  much  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  he  has  shown  me  the  productions  of  the  country. 
I  uill  tell  you  what  he  has  said  to  me,  and  what  he  has 


66  ABUSE   OF   REASON. 

shown  mc,  which  -will  prove  to  you  that  your  spccuhitions  are 
wholly  unfounded."  Now  just  such  is  the  character  of 
John's  Gospel. 

As,  in  total  darkness,  or  in  respect  of  objects  beyond  our 
horizon,  the  dimmest  and  the  clearest  sight  are  on  a  level,  so 
learning  cannot  advance  one  man  beyond  another,  in  the 
comprehension  of  things  confessedly  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
human  faculties. 

To  bring  in  human  philosophy  to  help  out  Revelation, 
when  it  cannot  be  made  even  to  seem  to  gratify  curiosity 
about  things  of  no  practical  importance,  is  to  bring  a  lamp 
to  the  dial-plate,  when  the  sun-light  fiiils,  in  order  to  find 
out  the  hour. 

To  dare  to  believe  less,  or  to  pretend  to  understand  more, 
than  God  has  expressly  revealed,  is  equally  profane  presump- 
tion. 

The  next  best  thing  to  understanding  the  whole  of  any 
subject,  is  to  be  aware  of  that  part  of  it  we  do  not  understand. 

The  old  proverb,  "  A  fool  can  ask  more  questions  than  a 
wise  man  can  answer,"  may  very  fairly  have  this  added  as  a 
rider  to  it,  "  A  wise  man  cannot  ask  more  questions  than  he 
will  find  fools  ready  to  answer." 

Too  much  attention  cannot  be  bestowed  on  that  important 
yet  much  neglected  branch  of  learning  —  the  knoAvledgc  of 
man's  ignorance. 

Of  matters  relating  to  tlie  Deity  none  need  know  less,  and 
none  ean  know  more  than  the  Almighty  has  revealed. 


AEUSE   OF   REASON.  57 

We  should  study  to  be  wise,  not  above  Scripture,  but  in 
Scripture ;  to  learn,  not  the  things  which  God  has  concealed, 
but  what  he  has  revealed. 

Where  full  and  accurate  knowledge  is  not  to  be  attained, 
it  is  a  great  point  to  keep  clear  of  presumptuous  error. 
Where  the  darkness  cannot  be  removed,  it  is  a  great  point 
to  be  aware  that  it  is  darkness,  instead  of  being  deceived  and 
misled,  by  false  lights  and  delusive  appearances. 

To  seek  to  be  "wise  above  that  which  is  written,"  is  to 
forget,  that,  by  want  of  humility  was  that  ruin  incurred  to 
retrieve  which  God  was  made  man  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
"  humbled  Himself  unto  death  ;"  and  to  repeat  the  presump- 
tuous transgression,  which  had  shut  the  gates  of  eternal  life. 
By  in(|uisitive  pride  Avas  immortal  happiness  forfeited,  and 
the  path  by  which  Ave  must  travel  back  to  its  recovery,  is 
that  of  patient  and  resigned  humility. 

The  best  heathen  moralists  knew  not  that  the  first  step  to 
elevation  is  humility ;  that  though  the  palace  of  Wisdom  be, 
indeed,  a  lofty  structure,  its  entrance  is  low,  and  it  forbids 
admission  without  bending.  They  knew  not,  or  at  least, 
taught  not,  that  our  nature  must  be  exalted  by  first  under- 
standing and  acknowledging  the  full  amount  of  its  weakness 
and  imperfection,  —  "Jesus  called  unto  Him  a  little  child, 
and  set  him  in  the  midst;" — Avliat  other  teacher  ever  did  the 
like  ? 

There  are  three  points  of  analogy  in  our  situation  to  that 
of  children  —  as  respects  knoAvlcdgc.  It  is,  1st,  relative  in 
kind ;  —  2nd,  scanty  and  imperfect  in  degree  ;  —  and,  8rd, 
practically  sufficient.     And  in  regard  to  the  duties  thence 


58  ABUSE   OF   REASON. 

resulting,  they  arc  hnmilitj,  docility,  and  devoted  and  affec- 
tionate submission  to  a  Fatlicr's  "will. 

As  a  child's  father  may  be  some  mighty  sovereign,  or  an 
eminent  statesman,  poet,  philosopher,  or  warrior — one  -whose 
life  is  of  importance  to  millions,  or  -whose  fame  spreads  over 
lialf  the  globe :  and  yet  be  regarded  by  the  child,  who  has 
but  a  very  faint,  if  any,  conception  of  all  this,  merely  as  his 
father  ;  so  our  kno-wledgc  of  God  is  almost  entirely  relative. 
—  He  is  revealed  to  us,  not  as  He  is  in  Himself,  but,  chiefly 
as  He  is  in  relation  to  ourselves. 

It  is  accounted  a  mark  of  silly  presumption  in  a  child,  to 
pretend  to  understand  fully,  and  pronounce  upon  positively, 
the  nature  of  anything  as  it  is  in  itself;  or  to  suppose  that 
his  friends  have  no  other  concerns  to  attend  to,  beside  what 
relates  to  him.  And  is  it  not  something  worse  than  childish, 
to  reason  upon  and  discuss  boldly,  and  pronounce  upon  dog- 
matically, the  attributes  and  acts  of  God !  If  humility  is 
essentially  becoming  in  a  child,  it  must  also  be  in  a  Christian, 
who  is,  and  ever  must  be,  in  respect  of  the  Creator,  a  child, 
and  much  less  than  a  child. 

As  the  earthly  parent,  whose  character  and  designs  arc 
very  imperfectly  and  indistinctly  understood  by  his  little 
children,  yet  communicates  enough  to  them  to  entitle  him  to 
their  love  and  confidence,  and  cheerful  obedience ;  so  the 
knowledge  imparted  to  us  in  the  Scriptures  is  sufficient  for 
all  practical  purposes. — Amid  all  our  weakness  and  ignorance 
that  which  we  can  best  understand  is  our  duty. 

The  absurd  mistakes  of  children,  from  concludin;j  that 
things  must  be  alike  because  they  are  analogous  and  bear 


SUPERSTITION.  69 

similar  relations  to  something  else,  may  serve  as  a  mirror  to 
show  the  sort  of  mistakes  we  have  a] 
the  notions  we  form  of  the  Almighty. 


show  the  sort  of  mistakes  we  have  also  to  guard  against  in 


We  should  not  rest  satisfied  with  having  admitted  once  for 
all,  but  we  must  also  keep  steadili/  in  vieiv,  the  necessity  of 
a  most  reverent  and  trembling  caution,  and  self-distrust, 
when  WG  speak  of  "the  secret  things"  that  "belong  to  the 
Lord  our  God." 

The  Christian,  while  earnestly  seeking  such  knowledge  as 
is  "  able  to  make  (us)  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  should  in  his  studies  keep  in  mind 
that  we  now  know  but  "in  part"  and  see  "through  a  glass, 
darkly;"  and  by  his  life  illustrate  his  conviction,  that  the 
"  things  which  are  revealed  belong  unto  us,  ...  .  that  we 
may  do  all  the  works  of  this  Law." 


X.  Superstition". 

Every  truth,  like  true  coin,  has  its  counterfeit. 

Superstition  is  not  (as  it  has  been  defined)  an  excess  of  re- 
ligious feeling,  but  a  misdirection  of  it,  an  exhausting  of  it 
on  vanities  of  man's  devising. 

Nothmg  is  harmless  that  is  mistaken  for  a  virtue. 

The  more  disposed  any  one  is  to  submissive  veneration, 
the  greater  the  importance  of  guarding  him  against  misdi- 


60  SUPERSTITION. 

rccted  veneration — against  false  piety  ;  against  receiving  as 
Divine,  ■what,  in  reality,  is  human. 

Minds  strongly  predisposed  to  superstition,  may  be  com- 
pared to  heavy  bodies  just  balanced  on  the  verge  of  a  pre- 
cipice. The  slightest  touch  "will  send  them  over ;  and  then, 
the  greatest  exertion  that  can  be  made,  may  be  insufficient 
to  arrest  their  fall. 

Fanaticism  implies  Superstition;  but  is  not  necessarily 
implied  by  it. 

The  more  nearly  any  Superstitions  approach  to,  so  as  to 
blend  themselves  -with,  true  religion,  the  more  do  they  dete- 
riorate the  spirit  of  it :  —  the  more  does  the  poisonous  para- 
site, twining  round  the  fairest  boughs  of  the  good  tree, 
blight,  by  its  noxious  neighbourhood,  the  fruits  which-  that 
tree  should  have  borne. 

Falsehood,  like  poison,  will  generally  be  rejected  when  ad- 
ministered alone ;  but  when  blended  with  wholesome  ingre- 
dients, may  be  SAvallowed  unperceived. 

Almost  every  system  of  superstition,  to  be  rightly  under- 
stood, should  be  read  backwards.  The  fable,  of  the  un- 
buried,  wandering  disconsolate  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Styx,  was  not  the  cause,  but  the  effect,  of  that  anxiety 
about  our  mortal  remains,  which  has  been  felt  in  every  age 
and  country. 

A  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  delusion,  is  not 
so  much  tlio  coHficqncjice,  as  itself  the  origin  of  priestcraft. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  first  recorded  instance 


SUPERSTITION.  61 

of  departure  from  purity  of  worship,  as  established  by  the 
revelation  to  the  Israelites,  was  forced  on  the  'priest  by  the 
people.  The  excuse  offered  by  Aaron  for  making  the  golden 
calf  was,  that  he  did  it  at  the  desire  of  the  Israelites. 

To  believe  that  the  superstitious  are,  after  all,  on  the  safe 
side,  is  to  believe  that  it  is  safe  to  combine  with  the  medicines 
of  a  skilful  physician,  all  the  nostrums  of  all  the  ignorant 
practitioners  in  the  neighbourhood. 

There  is  no  safe  side  but  the  side  of  truth. 

One  of  the  most  prevailing  characteristics  of  superstition, 
which  is,  at  least,  found,  more  or  less,  in  most  species  of  it, 
is  the  attributing  of  some  sacred  efficacy  to  the  performance 
of  an  ouUvard  act,  or  the  presence  of  some  material  object ; 
without  anything  else  being  needed,  except  an  undoubting 
faith  in  that  intrinsic  efficacy. 

As  a  patient  will  take  his  revenge  for  the  nauseous  dose 
he  dares  not  refuse  to  swallow,  by  abusive  ridicule  of  the 
physician  and  his  medicines,  knowing  that  this  will  not,  so 
long  as  he  does  but  take  the  drugs,  diminish  their  efficacy ; 
so,  the  votary  of  superstition  profanely  jests  with  the  ob- 
servance he  dares  not  put  aside.  Thus  it  is  that  superstition 
generates  profaneness. 

The  best  that  can  be  said  of  any  outward  forms,  in  them- 
selves harmless,  is  that  they  are  well  calculated  to  cherish 
feelings  of  rational  devotion ;  the  worst  that  can  be  said  of 
any  of  these,  is  that  they  are  peculiarly  liable  to  become 
superstitious. 
6 


62  SUPERSTITION. 

To  disjoin  the  means  of  grace  from  the  fruits  of  grace,  is 
to  convert  a  sacrament  into  a  charm. 

Empty  forms  convert  the  natural  food  of  religion  into  its 
poison. 

The  more  our  religion  becomes  a  religion  of  visible  objects, 
the  more  it  becomes  a  religion  of  outward  worship.  The 
same  tendency  which  makes  men  put  the  sign  of  an  unseen 
object  in  the  place  of  that  object,  makes  them  put  the  sigu 
of  inward  worship  in  the  place  of  inward  worship. 

It  is  the  general  tendency  of  human  nature  to  substitute 
the  means  of  grace  for  the  fruits  of  grace. 

Superstition,  in  all  its  various  forms  and  degrees,  is  not 
merely  a  folly  to  be  ridiculed,  but  a  mischief  to  be  dreaded. 

Superstition  is  the  more  dangerous,  from  its  providing  an 
exercise  for  the  natural  and  original  sentiment  of  religion  in 
the  human  mind ;  and  satisfying,  by  the  practice  of  super- 
stitious ceremonies,  this  natural  craving,  (so  to  speak,)  after 
Divine  worship ;  thus,  more  easily  extinguishing  true  piety, 
setting  the  conscience  at  rest,  and  preoccupying,  by  an  idol, 
God's  place  in  the  heart. 

Religion  is  the  medicine  of  the  soul,  and  our  spiritual 
enemy  knows  that  superstition  is  the  specific  poison  that  may 
most  easily  be  blended  with  it,  and  will  the  most  completely 
destroy  its  efficacy. 

He  who  rashly  gives  heed  to  superstitious  delusions,  errs 
not  from  excess  of  faith,  but  from  want  of  faith ;  for  what  is 


SUPERSTITION.  G3 

true  in  his  belief,  he  receives  not  because  it  is  true,  —  but 
because  it  agrees  with  some  prejudice  or  fancy  of  his  own : 
and  he  is  right,  Avhcre  he  is  right,  only  by  chance.  Having 
violated  the  spirit  of  the  First  Commandment,  by  regarding 
what  is  human  with  the  veneration  due  to  that  only  which  is 
Divine,  his  worship,  even  of  the  true  God,  becomes  an 
abomination.  He  has  set  up  idols  in  his  heart,  and  "the 
Lord,  the  jealous  God,  will  set  His  face  against  that  man." 

Where  anything,  not  in  itself  moral  or  religious,  is  con- 
nected with  religion.  Superstition  fastens  upon  that,  because 
it  is  "Avorldly,"  and  lets  the  rest  go.  Thus,  when  God's  jus- 
tice is  described  in  Scripture  as  vengeance,  to  show  us  that  it 
pursues  the  offender  as  sternly  as  a  revengeful  man  would 
pursue  his  enemy,  Superstition  fastens  gn  the  thought  of 
God's  thirsting  for  revenge,  and  regards  sin  only  as  an  offence 
which  provokes  in  God  a  desire  of  inflicting  pain  on  somebody. 
Again,  when  water,  or  bread  and  wine,  are  made  signs  of 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  of  Christ's  body  and  blood 
sacrificed  for  us,  superstition  fastens  on  the  water,  or  the 
bread  and  wine,  as  if  they  were  the  things  themselves.  When 
a  place  must  be  set  apart  for  Divine  worship.  Superstition 
fancies  that  God  dwells  in  that  place,  rather  than  in  the 
hearts  of  the  worshippers.  When  pictures  or  images  of  holy 
persons  are  set  before  us,  Suj^erstition  fastens  on  the  image, 
as  if  it  were  the  reality.  When  rites  or  ceremonies  are  used 
to  express  our  devotion.  Superstition  makes  them  our  devo- 
tion. When  prayers  have  to  be  said,  Superstition  makes  the 
saying  them,  prayer.  When  good  books  are  to  be  perused, 
Superstition  makes  the  perusal,  edification.  When  works  are 
to  be  done  from  a  good  motive,  Superstition  makes  the  out- 
ward action  the  good  work.  When  suffering/or  righteousness* 
sake  is  commended.  Superstition  takes  the  suffering  for  merit ; 


6-4  THE   LOVE   OF   NOVELTY. 

and  so  in  many  other  instances.  It  seizes  ever  on  the  out- 
■wanl — on  that  which  is  not  moral ;  on  tliat  which  strikes  the 
senses  or  the  imai^ination  —  and  fastens  there ;  while  true 
religion,  on  the  contrary,  calls  on  us  to  "lift  up  our  hearts" 
from  the  earthly  to  the  heavenly,  and  use  the  outward,  as  a 
help  to  the  inward. 

Let  but  the  stock  of  genuine  Christianity  shoot  vigorously, 
and  then  its  shoots  will  starve  the  superstitions  that  have 
been  grafted  in  it. 


XI.  The  Love  of  Novelty. 

The  love  of  novelty  —  the  pleasure  men  have  in  the  idea 
of  being  original  thinkers,  or  at  least  of  being  able  to  shake 
off  established  prejudices — often  impede  the  pursuit  of  truth 
for  its  own  sake,  and  make  it  a  secondary  object. 

A  man  who  is  excessive  in  his  dread  of  excessive  deference, 
will  be  very  apt  to  fall  into  the  opposite  extreme  of  courting 
paradox  and  striving  after  originality. 

Some  men  are  iscalous  fur  truth,  provided  it  be  truth 
brought  to  light  by  themselves. 

•  As  custom  will  often  blind  men  to  the  good,  as  well  as  to 
the  evil  effects,  of  any  long  established  system,  we  must 
never  alter  for  the  mere  sake  of  altering,  nor  indulge  the 
craving  after  novelty  for  its  own  sake. 


THE  LOVE   OF   NOVELTY.  6.5 

In  philosophy,  the  pursuit  of  novelty  and  of  truth  may 
often  chance  to  coincide ;  in  religion,  seldom,  if  ever. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  "New  Truth"  and  of  "Discovery," 
the  distinction  between  which  is  most  important.  First,  such 
truths  as  were,  before  they  were  discovered,  absolutely  un- 
known, being  not  implied  by  anything  we  previously  knew. 
Such  are  all  matters  of  fact,  strictly  so  called,  when  first 
made  known  to  one  who  had  not  any  such  previous  know- 
ledge, as  would  enable  him  to  ascertain  them  a  priori  ;  i.  e., 
by  reasoning ;  as,  if  we  inform  a  man  that  we  have  a  colony 
in  New  South  Wales.  The  communication  of  this  kind  of 
knowledge  is  properly  called  information.  We  gain  it  from 
observation  and  from  testimony.  No  mere  internal  workings 
of  our  own  minds,  or  mere  discussions  in  words,  will  make 
such  a  fact  known  to  us,  though  there  is  great  room  for  saga- 
city in  judging  what  testimony  to  admit,  and  in  the  forming 
of  conjectures,  that  may  lead  to  profitable  observation.  The 
other  class  of  discoveries  is  of  a  very  different  nature.  That 
which  may  be  elicited  by  reasoning,  and  consequently  is  im- 
plied in  that  which  we  already  know,  we  assent  to  on  that 
ground,  and  not  from  observation  or  testimony.  To  all  prac- 
tical purposes,  indeed,  a  truth  of  this  description  may  be  as 
completely  unknown  to  us  as  the  others ;  but  as  soon  as  it  is 
set  before  us,  and  the  argument  by  which  it  is  connected 
with  our  previous  notions  made  clear,  we  recognize  it  as 
something  conformable  to,  and  contained  in  our  former 
belief.  We  are  conscious  that  we  possess  in  what  we  already 
know,  the  means  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  it,  that  we  have  a 
right,  in  short,  to  bear  our  testimony  to  its  truth. 

Suppose  there  is  a  vein  of  metal  on  a  man's  estate,  which 
he  does  not  know  of;  is  it  part  of  his  possessions  or  not? 
and  Avhen  he  finds  it  out  and  works  it,  does  he  then  acquire 
0* 


60  THE   LOVE   OF   NOVELTY. 

a  new  possession  or  not?  Certainly  not  a  new  possession  in 
I  he  same  sense  as  if  he  had  a  fresh  estate  bequcatlied  to  liim, 
Avhieli  lie  had  formerly  no  right  to ;  but  to  all  practical  pur- 
poses, it  is  a  new  possession.  Again,  reasoning  has  been 
aptly  compared  to  the  piling  together  blocks  of  stone ;  on 
each  of  which,  as  on  a  pedestal,  a  man  can  raise  himself  a 
small,  and  but  a  small,  height  above  the  plain ;  but  which 
when  skilfully  built  up,  will  form  a  flight  of  steps,  Avhich  will 
raise  him  to  a  great  elevation.  Now,  (to  pursue  this  ana- 
logy,) when  the  materials  are  all  ready  to  the  builder's  hand, 
the  blocks  ready,  dug,  and  brought,  his  work  resembles  one 
of  the  two  kinds  of  discovery  just  mentioned,  viz.,  that  to 
which  we  have  assigned  the  name  of  instruction :  but  if  his 
materials  are  to  be  entirely,  or  in  part,  provided  by  himself 
— if  he  himself  is  forced  to  dig  fresh  blocks  from  the  quarry 
— this  corresponds  to  the  other  kind  of  discovery. 

"Man,"  says  the  illustrious  Lord  Bacon,  "having  the 
oflice  of  attending  on  nature,  and  studying  to  ascertain  her 
meaning,  (naturce  minister  et  iiiterpres,)  is  limited  in  his 
knowledge  and  his  power  by  the  observations  he  has  made 
of  the  course  of  nature :  for  nature  can  be  controlled  only 
by  submitting  to  her  laws :  in  all  our  performances  we  can 
do  nothing  more  than  apply  or  remove  bodies  already  exist- 
ing :  the  rest,  nature  accomi)li.shcs."  Just  so  with  Revela- 
tion. Man, — i.  e.,  uninspired  man, — by  attentive  study  of 
the  Scriptures,  may  learn  much  of  God's  dealings  with  our 
race,  and  of  His  gracious  offers  and  promises  ;  and  may  so 
apply  this  knowledge,  and  avail  himself  of  those  offers,  as  to 
become  "  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus ;"  but  he  can  no  more  make  or  alter  a  revelation,  than 
he  can  set  aside  tlio  physical  laws  of  the  universe. 


THE  LOVE   OF  NOVELTY.  67 

A  new  Truth,  in  the  sense  of  something  neither  expressly 
nor  virtually  asserted  before — not  implied  (involved)  in  any- 
thing already  known — cannot  be  properly  looked  for  in  re- 
ligion. A  full  and  final  revelation  having  been  made,  no 
discovery,  properly  so  called,  of  any  high  importance  is  to 
be  expected  ;  not  merely  because  the  Book,  which  contains 
all  we  know  of  the  Divine  will,  has  been  so  long  before  us 
(for  so  also  has  the  book  of  nature,  in  which  nevertheless  we 
are  daily  reading  new  truths,  which  had  escaped  the  re- 
searches of  our  predecessors),  but  because  that  Book  was  de- 
signed by  the  Almighty  to  convey  such  instruction  as  He 
judged  needful  for  all,  which  purpose  it  would  not  have  an- 
swered, if  its  true  sense  and  doctrine  were  not  understood  by 
any  for  so  many  centuries.  Could  it  be  materially  altered 
by  any  new  mode  of  interpretation  from  what  has  been  uni- 
formly received,  it  cannot  be  called  (at  least  a  final)  revela- 
tion. Elucidation,  indeed,  of  minor  points  may  be  looked 
for,  and  be  very  valuable  ;  fresh  topics  of  evidence  may  be 
expected  (in  these  later  times)  to  supply  the  defect  of  re- 
cent miracles —  prophecies  may  become  intelligible  by  their 
fulfilment  —  and  fresh  arguments  in  support  of  the  essential 
doctrines  may  be  brought  forward.  All  this  furnishes  ample 
scope  for  the  utmost  conceivable  ingenuity  and  originality 
of  thought,  and  the  unremitting  labours  of  a  whole  life 
would  be  insufficient  for  accomplishing  all  that  would  be  de- 
sirable on  each  of  these  points ;  so  that  no  excuse  is  left  for 
indolence  and  continued  ignorance ;  —  but  still,  unless  our 
faith  be  the  same  in  the  main  with  that  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians, we  may  be  well  assured  that  it  is  unsound. 

The  temptation  of  novelty  cannot  be  too  sedulously  guarded 
against,  when  we  consider  how  powerful  a  principle  of  human 
nature  that  must  be.  which  could  seduce  even  the  hearers  of 


68  TUB    DREAD   OF   INNOVATION. 

the  Apostles  themselves ;  who  were  led  away  by  daring 
innovators,  corrupting,  with  their  own  devices,  the  pure 
stream  of  Divine  truth,  even  close  to  the  fountain  head. 

We  must  beware  of  an  idle  craving  after  novelties  of  our 
own  devising,  while  the  infallible  and/;mZ  revelation  of  God's 
will  is  before  us ;  and  studiously  repressing  all  care  to  be 
"wise  above  that  which  is  written,"  endeavour  to  divert  into 
some  other  channel,  any  eager  desire  we  may  naturally  and 
reasonably  feel  for  discovering,  what  may  strictly  be  called, 
new  truths.  A  boundless  field  lies  open  before  us,  nor  need 
we  fear  that  the  stores  of  useful  knowledge  to  be  drawn  from 
the  study  of  nature  and  of  science,  will  ever  be  exhausted. 


XII.  TuE  Dread  of  Innovation. 

A  MISTAKEN  dread  of  Innovation  causes  men  to  overlook 

the  errors  that  arc,  in  reality,  the  greatest  innovations. 

The  maxim,  almost  universally  admitted,  that  there  is  so 
strong  a  love  of  novelty  for  its  own  sake,  in  the  human  mind, 
as  to  attach  a  character  of  danger  to  any  change,  though  in 
itself  small,  and  harmless  or  beneficial,  seems  scarcely  borne 
out  by  experience.  History  records  no  event  that  indicates 
such  a  principle  in  human  nature  as  a  fondness  for  change 
for  its  own  sake.  Man's  love  of  novelty  belongs  to  recrea- 
tion, and  ornaments,  and  the  like ;  not  to  the  serious  con- 
cerns of  life,  in  which  the  mass  of  mankind  are  wedded  to 
established  usages  and  institutions,  even  when  they  have 
nothiuir  but  custom  to  recuiuiiKiid  them. 


THE   DREAD   OF   INNOVATION.  69 

As  men  are  found  tolerating  in  houses  they  have  long 
inhabited,  the  inconvenience  of  some  ill-planned  door,  or 
window,  or  passage,  when  the  remedy  would  be  easy ;  while 
in  a  newly-built  house,  if  any  like  inconvenience  were  found, 
an  alteration  would  be  made  instantly,  so  it  is  in  legislation 
and  all  human  affairs.  Recent  experiment  may  bring  to 
light  and  exaggerate  the  defects  of  a  new  system,  but  long 
familiarity  blinds  us  to  those  very  defects. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  a  gentleman,  who,  being  entangled 
in  the  intricacies  of  the  numberless  windings  of  the  deep 
and  shady  Devonshire  lanes,  trotted  briskly  on,  in  the  hope 
that  he  should  at  length  come  to  some  house  whose  inhabi- 
tants would  direct  him,  or  to  some  more  open  spot  from 
which  he  could  take  a  survey  of  the  different  roads,  and 
observe  whither  they  led.  He  proceeded  a  long  time  in  this 
manner,  encouraged  by  observing,  as  he  advanced,  the  pi-ints 
of  horses'  feet,  which  indicated  that  he  was  in  no  unfrequented 
track :  and  these  becoming  continually  more  and  more  nu- 
merous, the  further  he  went,  he  accordingly  paid  the  less 
anxious  attention  to  the  bearings  of  the  country,  from 
increasing  assurance  that  he  was  in  the  right  Way.  But  still 
he  saw  neither  house  nor  human  creature,  and  at  length,  the 
recurrence  of  the  same  objects  by  the  roadside  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  fact,  that  all  this  time,  misled  by  the  multitude 
of  the  turnings,  he  had  been  riding  in  a  circle  ;  and  that  the 
foot-marks,  the  sight  of  which  had  so  cheered  him,  were  those 
of  Ids  oivn  liorse ;  their  number,  of  course,  increasing  with 
every  circuit  he  took.  Had  he  not  fortunately  made  this 
discovery,  perhaps  he  might  have  been  riding  there  now. 
Are  not  men  in  many  parts  of  their  conduct  in  life,  liable 
thus  to  follow  the  track  of  their  own  footsteps,  to  set  them- 


70  THE   DREAD    OF   INNOVATION. 

selves  an  exiimplc,  —  and  to  flatter  themselves  that  they  are 
going  right,  from  their  conformity  to  their  own  precedent  ? 

Tliere  is  always  a  tendency  to  appeal,  ■with  the  same  kind 
of  deference,  to  the  authority  of  "old  times,"  as  to  that  of 
aged  men,  from  associating  with  "old  times,"  the  impression 
of  the  superior  wisdom  resulting  from  experience,  which,  as  a 
general  rule,  we  attribute  to  old  men.  Yet  no  one  is  really 
ignorant  that  the  world  is  older  now  than  ever  it  was,  and 
that  the  instruction  to  be  derived  from  observation  on  the 
past  must  be  greater,  supposing  other  things  equal,  to  every 
successive  generation. 

It  will  often  be  found  that  the  same  truths,  which  Avhen 
stated  generally,  arc  regarded  as  truisms  not  worth  mention- 
ing, will,  in  their  practical  application,  appear  revolting 
paradoxes. 

In  many  a  case  of  innovation,  it  might  be  found  that  what 
is  new  is  not  wrong,  and  what  is  wrong  is  not  new. 

Seeming  innovations  are  really  restorations,  returns  to  the 
right  course,  by  the  sudden  correction  of  great  errors,  re- 
sulting from  the  accumulation  of  imperceptibly  small  ones. 
A  striking  instance  is  aftbrded  in  "  the  change  of  the  style." 
Such  restoration  is  but  the  scouring  of  a  room,  removing,  in 
an  hour  or  two,  the  dirt  which  had  been  gathering  for 
several  days,  Avhich  is  only  called  Jceejnng  it  clean,  not 
changing  it. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  how  startling  was  the  idea 
that  there  could  be  several  independent  churches,  owing  no 
allegiance  to  the  successors  of  Peter  !     Yet,  in  awaking  from 


THE   DREAD   OF   INNOVATION.  71 

their  first  surprise,  men  found  the  novelty  to  be  just  the  re- 
storation of  the  primitive  state  of  things,  the  following  of 
apostolic  example ;  so  it  is  with  many  a  thing  that  is  cried 
up,  or  cried  down,  as  a  novelty. 

Hurtful  and  extensive  changes  are  often  attributed  to 
harmless  and  trifling  ones  —  Post  hoe;  ergo,  propter  hoc. 
But  though  many  instances  may  be  found  of  small  alterations 
being  folloived  by  great  and  mischievous  ones,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  all  history  can  furnish  a  single  instance  of  the 
greater  innovation  having  been,  properly  speaking,  caused 
by  the  lesser. 

The  best  security  against  revolution  is  in  constant  correc- 
tion of  abuses,  and  introduction  of  needed  improvements. 
It  is  the  neglect  of  timely  repair  that  makes  rebuilding 
necessary. 

To  show  that  the  present  is  not  the  fittest  conceivable  oc- 
casion for  making  a  certain  change  in  itself  advisable, — that 
a  better  occasion  may  be  imagined,  or  that  a  better  occasion 
is  past, — that  the  Sibylline  books  might  have  been  purchased 
cheaper  some  time  ago,  is  not  enough  to  justify  indefinite 
procrastination :  it  is  requisite  to  show  also  that  a  more  suit- 
able occasion  is  likely  to  arise ;  and  how  soon ;  and  again, 
that  it  will  have  been  worth  waiting  for ;  and  moreover,  that 
men,  when  it  does  come,  will  be  more  disposed  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it. 

To  conceive  a  system  —  whether  actually  existing  or  ideal 
— so  framed  as  to  keep  itself  in  good  order,  is  to  be  beset  by 
the  same  chimerical  hope,  in  human  afiairs,  that  has  misled 
so  many  speculators  in  mechanics, — the  vain  expectation  of 
attaining  the  perpetual  motion. 


72  UNDUE   DEFERENCE  TO   HUMAN   AUTHORITY. 

To  say  that  no  change  shall  take  place  is  to  pretend  to 
control  the  course  of  the  sun.  To  say  that  none  shall  occur 
except  such  as  are  undesigned,  and  accidental,  is  to  say,  that 
though  the  clock  may  gain  or  lose  indefinitely,  at  least  we 
take  care  it  shall  never  he  regulated.  "And  since,"  says 
Bacon,  "  things  alter  for  the  worse  spontaneously,  if  they  be 
never  altered  for  the  better  designedly,  when  is  the  evil  to 
end  ?" 

The  remedy  of  a  remedy  is  a  change  far  more  easily  to  bo 
brought  about  than  the  first  change ;  and,  therefore,  the  im- 
perfect remedying  of  a  bad  law  is  in  itself  hopeful.  While 
the  morter  is  wet,  a  building  is  more  readily  altered. 

No  opinion  is  to  be  received  simply  because  it  is  old,  or 
simply  because  it  is  neiv  ;  but  only  because  it  is  true.  We 
must  e({ually  beware  of  venturing  rashly  on  untrodden 
paths,  without  a  careful  survey  of  the  country,  and  of  fol- 
lowing in  too  confident  security,  the  track  of  our  own  foot- 
steps. 


XIII.  Undue  Deference  to  Human  Authority. 

The  great  body  of  mankind  show  their  humbleness  of 
mind,  by  submitting  themselves  to  man,  instead  of  to  God. 

To  believe  as  others  believe,  is  a  compendious  creed,  taxing 
neither  a  man's  intellect,  nor  his  industry  ; — a  creed  result- 
ing from  the  indolence  —  the  spiritual  carelessness, — the 
weakness  and  the  dishonest  ambition  of  human  nature. 


UNDUE   DEFERENCE   TO   HUMAN  AUTHORITY.  73 

Orthodoxy,  v-hicli,  strictly  speaking,  racans  right  faith,  in 
popular  laiigiuigo,  means  conformity  to  "what  is  generally 
received  as  the  right  faith. 

The  reference  so  often  made  to  the  words  of  Vincentius 
Lirinensis, — "  Quod  semper,  quod  uhique,  quod  ah  omnibus, 
^c."  —  seems  altogether  unaccountable.  That  whatever  is 
believed,  and  always  has  been,  by  all  Christians  everywhere, 
is  a  part  of  the  Christian  faith,  is  a  truism,  as  barren  as  it  is 
undeniable.  It  cannot  possibly  bo  called  in  to  solve  auT/ 
question  in  dispute,  since,  by  its  own  character,  it  relates 
expressly  and  exclusively  to  such  points  as  never  have  been 
disputed  among  Christians. 

Authority,  (in  the  sense  of  power,)  in  reference  to  any 
jmrticular  act  or  decision,  does  not  admit  of  degrees  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  authority,  in  the  sense  of  a  clami  to  defer- 
ence, admits  of  infinite  degrees ;  and,  therefore,  an  appeal  to 
an  undefined  authority  of  a  vast  and  indefinite  number  of 
writers,  extending  over  a  very  long  and  indefinite  space  of 
time,  is,  indeed,  to  set  up  a  standard  inaccessible  from  its 
very  vagueness. 

It  is  no  uncommon  mistake,  to  imagine  many  witnesses  to 
be  bearing  concurrent  testimony  to  the  same  thing,  when  in 
truth  they  are  attesting  different  things.  Multitudes  may 
agree  in  maintaining  some  system  or  doctrine  which  perhaps 
one  out  of  a  million  may  have  convinced  himself  of,  by  rea- 
son and  reflection ;  while  the  rest  have  assented  to  it  in  im- 
plicit reliance  on  authority.  One  or  two  men  may  be  bearing 
original  testimony  to  some  fact  or  transaction ;  and  one  or 
two  hwidred  who  are  repeating  what  they  have  heard  from 
them,  may  be,  in  reality,  only  bearing  witness  to  their  having 
7 


74  UNDUE    DEFERENCE    TO    HUMAN    AUTHORITY. 

heard  it,  and  to  tlieir  own  beUcf.  The  sliops  supply  U5?  with 
abundance  of  busts  and  prints  of  some  great  man,  all  strik- 
ing likenesses — of  each  other. 

As,  when  a  prevailing  current  in  particular  spots  sets 
strongly  towards  certain  shoals,  we  must  expect  that  many 
vessels  will  strike  on  them ;  so  when  the  passions  and  pre- 
judices of  man  tend  towards  some  particular  errors,  it  must 
be  expected  that  such  errors  will  generally  prevail ;  the  pre- 
sumption therefore  is  rather,  if  anything,  against  taking  as 
authority  the  prevailing  opinions. 

Who  Avere  the  orthodox,  and  who  were  the  true  worshippers 
in  Israel,  when  Elijah  alone  was  left  of  the  Lord's  prophets, 
while  Baal's  prophets  were  four  hundred  and  fifty  men  ? 

The  exercise  of  private  judgment  in  religious  matters,  is 
a  right,  but  not  a  right  that  a  man  through  modesty  may 
waive;  for  it  is  not  more  a  right  than  a  duty  —  nay,  it  is  a 
right  because  it  is  a  duty ;  but  were  we  to  waive  all  conside- 
ration as  to  the  right,  and  as  to  the  duty,  the  important 
point  remains  of  its  necessity. 

« 

The  right  of  private  judgment,  is  one,  which,  God  has  not 
merely  given  permission,  that  men  may  exercise,  but  made 
provision  that  they  must.  We  may  refrain  from  exercising 
it  on  this  or  that  particular  point,  but  it  is  only  to  transfer 
it  to  another  point.  For  instance,  a  man  distrusting  his 
own  knowledge  of  medicine,  may  refrain  from  exercising  any 
judgment  as  to  the  remedies  he  should  use,  and  may  put 
himself  wholly  in  the  hands  of  a  physician:  that  is,  he 
judges  that  a  physician  is  needful,  and  that  such  and  such  a 
practitioner  is  worthy  of  confidence.     Or  supposing  he  dis- 


UNDUE    DEFERENCE    TO    HUMAN   AUTHORITY.  75 

tnists  liis  oAvn  judginent  on  this  point  also,  then,  he  consults 
sonic  friend,  -whom  ho  judges  to  be  trustworthy,  as  to  wluit 
physician  he  shall  employ.  On  any  matters  in  "which  a  man 
takes  serious  interest,  such  as  religious  matters,  he  can  avoid 
exercising  private  judgment,  only  by  withdrawing  his  atten- 
tion as  much  as  possible  from  the  whole  subject,  except  as 
far  as  regards  outward  observances  and  forms. 

Some  momentous  questions  must  first  have  been  decided 
by  private  judgment,  even  by  those  who  surrender  it  to 
human  guidance.  1st.  Whether  there  is  a  God.  2nd. 
"Whether  Christianity  comes  from  God.  3rd.  Whether  they 
shall  submit  to  human  guidance ;  and,  4th.  Whose  guidance 
it  shall  be. 

If  we  are  competent  to  judge  Avho  our  guide  is  to  be,  then 
our  alleged  unfitness  for  the  exercise  of  private  judgment 
is  done  away.  If  we  are  not  competent  to  judge  who  is  to 
be ;  then,  though  wo  may  admit  the  necessity  of  an  infallible 
guide,  we  can  never  be  sure  that  we  have  found  one.  Every 
thing  will  depend  on  the  reasons  we  may  have  for  trusting 
him ;  for  no  building  can  be  more  firm  than  the  foundation 
it  rests  on. 

To  leave  important  questions  to  be  decided,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, by  those  who  are,  by  supposition,  incompetent 
judges,  and  who  for  that  very  reason  are  to  rely  implicitly 
on  an  infallible  guide,  is  to  tell  them  that  because  they  can- 
not steer  their  course  without  a  pilot,  they  must  make  a 
voyage  to  a  distant  port  in  order  to  find  one. 

It  seems  somewhat  strange,  that  it  is  always  by  some  rea- 
son or  other,  that  men  seek  to  persuade  men  to  renounce 


76  UNDUE   DEFERENCE   TO   HUMAN   AUTHORITY. 

their  reason,  to  argue  men  into  neglecting  arguments,  and 
prove  to  tlicm  that  they  cannot  judge  of  proofs.  They  for- 
get that  their  objections,  as  lying  against  the  proofs  of  reason- 
ing itself,  universally,  -will,  therefore,  of  course  apply  to 
those  very  arguments  they  arc  themselves  adducing.  They 
are  acting  like  the  woodman,  who  had  mounted  a  tree,  and, 
who  was  so  earnestly  employed  in  cutting  the  boughs,  that 
he  unconsciously  cut  off  the  bough  on  which  he  was  standing. 

To  follow  imperfect,  uncertain,  or  corrupted  traditions,  in 
order  to  avoid  erring  in  our  own  judgment,  is  but  to  exchange 
one  danger  for  another. 

It  is  said  that,  some  years  ago,  tliere  was  a  bridge  at  Bath 
in  so  crazy  a  condition  that  persons  chose  rather  to  make  a 
long  circuit  than  run  the  risk  of  crossing  it.  One  day,  how- 
ever, a  very  nervous  lady,  hurrying  home  to  dros^  for  tlic 
evening,  came  suddenly  upon  the  spot,  without,  till  that 
moment,  remembering  the  danger.  What  was  she  to  do  ? 
If  she  went  on,  the  frail  arch  might  give  way  umder  her ;  to 
go  round  would  be  fatiguing,  and  attended  with  loss  of  time. 
She  stood  for  some  minutes  trembling  in  anxious  hesitation ; 
at  last  a  lucky  thought  occurred  to  her  —  she  called  for  a 
sedan  chair,  and  Avas  carried  over  in  that  conveyance  ! 

Now,  when  people,  who  think  to  escape  the  danger  of 
having  to  judge  for  themselves  in  religious  matters,  by 
choosing  to  take  some  guide  as  an  infallible  one,  and  believe 
or  disbelieve  as  he  bids  them,  thus  ad<ling,  to  tl>e  undiminished 
previous  ciiances  of  error,  tlie  additional  chances  against  the 
authority  they  have  chosen, — wliat  is  this  but  putting,  not 
only  their  own  weight,  but  that  of  the  sedan  chair  also,  on 
the  totterinjr  arch  V 


UNDUK    DEl-'EREi\CE   TO    HUMAN    AUTHORITY.  77 

For  any  error  we  adopt  on  our  guide's  authority ;  and, 
furthermore,  for  bowing  to  his  guidance  without  good  proof  of 
his  legitimate  authority,  wc  shall  have  to  answer  to  Ilim  who 
has  called  upon  us  to  "prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good."  AVe  are  responsible,  not  only  for  doing,  but 
also  for  leaving  undone  ;  else  the  servant  who  hid  his  Lord's 
talent  in  the  earth  would  have  escaped  condemnation. 

There  is  no  real  humility  in  the  fancied  renunciation  of 
private  judgment  for  submission  to  an  infallible  human 
authority.  Though  the  gnomon  of  a  sun-dial  has  no  power 
of  itself  to  indicate  the  hour,  yet  when  the  sun  shines  on  it, 
the  motions  of  its  shadow  must  be  as  correct  as  those  of  the 
sun's  rays  which  it  follows ;  and  in  like  manner  he  is  infal- 
lible, actually  and  practically,  in  his  belief,  even  while  speak- 
ing of  himself  as  fallible,  who  always  believes  precisely  what 
an  infallible  Church  or  leader  believes. 

Pretenders  to  infallibility  in  religion  have  this  advantage 
(if  it  is  to  be  reckoned  one)  over  other  quacks,  that  the  mis- 
chief which  they  do  cannot  be  fully  known  till  the  great  day. 
They  make  promises  about  the  unseen  world,  and  the  victims 
of  their  deceit  cannot  come  back  from  the  grave  to  warn 
others.  Hence,  the  belief  in  an  infallible  guidance  is  much 
more  common  in  religious  matters,  than  in  the  affairs  of  this 
world,  where  experience  soon  detects  such  impostors  or  vain 
fancies. 

The  guides  on  whom,  as  the  wise  and  learned,  the  mass  of 
the  people  are  implicitly  to  rely,  soon  become  imwise  and 
wnlcarncd,  because  there  is  none  to  detect  their  deficiencies  ; 
they  become  ignorant  of  Scripture,  because  left  to  be  its 
authoritative  interpreters.     Their  proper  office  being  to  train 


78  UNDUK   DEFERENCE   TO    HUMAN   AUTHORITY. 

their  less  enlightened  brethren  to  "  give  a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  them,"  they  save  themselves  this  labour  by  training 
them  to  do  -without  a  reason. 

The  instructors  of  a  people  need  far  more  knowledge  than 
their  oracles. 

That  it  is  not  the  -will  of  God,  that  man  should  have  re- 
course to  any  human  infallible  tribunal,  is  at  once  the 
simplest,  and  the  most  decisive  argument  against  doing  so ; 
and  tliat  it  is  not  His  will,  is  determined,  by  the  fact  that  no 
such  tribunal  exists.  Our  conjecture  that,  in  a  Divine  dis- 
pensation, a  provision  is  requisite,  and  therefore  to  be  ex- 
pected, for  a  power  of  infallibly  interpreting  Scripture,  and 
deciding  finally  all  questions  that  may  ai-ise,  cannot  alter 
facts.  If  "we  are  to  infer  the  existence  of  a  miracle,  because 
we  conclude  it  to  be  important,  we  make  ourselves  the  stand- 
ard for  the  Divine  procccdurc. 

Since  the  very  purpose  for  ■which  an  infallible  guide  is 
supposed  to  be  needed,  is  the  removal  of  all  reasonable  doubt, 
it  is  plain  that  if  God  had  thought  fit  to  provide  us  with  such 
a  guide,  lie  would  not  have  left  it  at  all  doubtful,  where  wo 
are  to  look  for  that  guide. 

Supposing  the  Apostles  and  their  Divine  Master  had  really 
regarded  it  as  a  part — and  it  must  have  been  a  most  essential 
jiart,  if  one  at  all — of  the  Christian  system  ;  had  they  really 
designed  that  there  should  be,  for  the  Universal  Church,  any 
institution  answering  to  the  Oracle  of  God  at  the  Tabernacle, 
it  is  Avholly  incredible,  tliat  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  slionld 
be  perpetually  spoken  of  as  tlie  Head  of  His  Church,  without 
any  reference    to  any  supreme  authority  on   earth,  to  any 


UNDUE   DEFERENCE   TO    HUMAN   AUTHORITY.  79 

human  body  as  Ilis  representative  and  vicegerent.  Now  tlicy 
do  not  merely  omit  all  such  reference,  but  they  omit  it  in 
such  a  manner,  and  under  such  circumstances,  as  plainly  to 
amount  to  an  exclusion.  A  ship  was  about  to  sail  for  a  cer- 
tain harbour  without  the  captain,  who  had  been  usually  the 
commander,  but  who  Avas  then  called  to  serve  elsewhere.  lie 
came  on  board  to  take  leave,  and  to  warn  the  officers  and 
others  of  the  dangerous  rocks  and  shoals,  which,  to  his 
knowledge,  beset  the  entrance ;  exhorting  them  to  keep  a 
good  look-out,  and  also  to  enquire  carefully  into  the  charac- 
ter of  any  pilot  who  might  offer  his  services ;  as  some,  he 
was  certain,  were  in  league  with  Avreckers  and  would  pur- 
posely steer  the  ship  on  rocks,  that  these  wretches  might 
plunder  the  wreck.  And  if  we  were  told,  there  was,  to  his 
knowledge,  a  Uglit-liouse  erected  there,  as  a  sure  land-mark ; 
and  a  ship  could  not  go  wrong,  that  did  but  steer  straight  for 
that ;  should  we  not  at  once  exclaim,  that  since  he  said  not 
a  word  of  this,  he  must  be  either  a  fool  or  a  knave  ?  And 
on  being  assured  that  he  was  an  eminently  wise  and  good 
man,  and  thoroughly  well  informed,  we  should  say,  "  Then 
this  story  of  the  light-house  must  be  a  fiction." 

And  now  look  at  Paul's  farewell  (Acts  xx.  29 — 31)  to  the 
elders  at  Miletus,  Avhere,  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  death, 
warning  his  disciples  of  the  dangers  to  which  they  would  be 
exposed,  and  showing  them  how  to  meet  them,  he  said  not 
one  word  of  any  infallible  judge  or  tribunal,  but  only  ex- 
horted them  to  watch,  and  remember  what  had  been  taught 
them. 

The  natural  result  of  compulsory  cessation  of  discussion 
is  an  apathetic  tranquillity,  an  indolent,  uninquiring  acqui- 
escence best  characterized  by  the  expression,  "  Seeing  then, 


80  UNDUE    DEFERENCE   TO    HUMAN   AUTHORITY. 

tliat  these  things  cannot  be  spoken  against,  ye  ought  to  bo 
quiet." 

The  craving  for  infallibillity  is  only,  an  enquiry  after  some 
mode  of  exemption  from  all  further  enquiry;  only,  a  care  to 
obtain  relief  from  all  further  need  of  care  ;  only,  a  naviga- 
tion in  search  of  some  safe  haven,  in  which  the  helm  may  be 
abandoned,  and  the  vessel  left  to  ride  securely,  -without  any 
need  of  Ava tolling  the  Avinds  and  currents,  and  of  looking  out 
for  shoals  and  rocks ;  only,  a  hope  to  acquire  a  release  from 
all  necessity  of  vigilant  circumspection.  Can  we  wonder, 
then,  that  all  that  ministers  to  such  a  principle  should  meet 
with  ready  acceptance  from  human  indolence  and  spiritual 
carelessness  ? 

The  abstaining  from  all  reasoning  and  all  investigation, 
does  not  always  secure  freedom  from  all  uneasy  doubt  —  a 
desire  for  which  creates  the  craving  for  infaUibillity.  Once 
granted  that  the  church,  sect,  or  leader,  we  have  taken  as 
our  guide,  is  perfectly  infallible,  and  there  is  an  end  of  all 
doubts  respecting  particular  points ;  but  this  is,  in  effect,  to 
shut  out  what  may  be  merely  apparent  doubts,  only  to  leave 
room  for  one  great  and  real  doubt  which  pervades  the  whole. 
An  uneasy  doubt  will  sometimes  haunt  a  man,  —  in  spite  of 
his  efforts  to  repress  it,  and  however  strenuously  he  may 
deny,  even  to  himself,  its  existence,  whether  the  infallibility 
claimed,  which  is  the  foundation  of  the  M'hole  building,  be  it- 
self really  well  established,  —  a  suspicion  will  occasionally 
cross  the  mind,  however  strenuously  repelled,  "  Is  there  not 
a  lie  in  my  rijld  hand?"  And  the  reluctance  often  shown 
to  examine  the  foundation,  and  ascertain  whether  it  is  really 
sound,  is  an  indication  not  of  fidl  coniidencc  in  its  firmness, 
but  of  a  lui'king  suspicion  that  it  will  not  bear  examining. 


UNDUE    DEFERENCE    TO    HUMAN    AUTHORITY.  81 

The  faith  of  those  -wlio  depend  on  the  authority  of  livinir 
guides  now,  is  phxinly  (juite  different  f]-oni  the  faith  of  the 
early  Christians,  ■\vho  relied  upon  the  testimony  of  the  com- 
petent witnesses  who  were  then  living.  Those  then,  who 
ground  their  faith  upon  the  testimony  of  those  same  witnesses 
preserved  in  tlie  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  really  fol- 
low the  example  of  the  early  Church,  and  "  are  built  on  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
self being  the  chief  corner-stone." 

As  the  Christian  minister  should  teach  as  Divine  Truth, 
that  only  which  he  is  convinced  is  scriptural,  so  his  hearers 
should  receive  as  Divine  Truth,  that  only  which  they  are 
convinced  is  scriptural. 

To  give  to  the  decisions  of  any  uninspired  man,  or  body 
of  men,  that  implicit  deference  due  to  the  declarations  and 
precepts  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  due  to  nothing  else,  is  not 
humble  piety,  but  profane  presumption. 

The  Scriptures  are  not  merely  like  the  elementary  propo- 
sitions in  mathematics,  the  first  step  and  foundation  of  proof, 
but  the  only  source  of  proof. 

To  refer  to  the  formularies  of  a  Church  as  tests  of  the 
fitness  of  persons  to  be  members  of  it,  is  allowable  and  ex- 
pedient ;  but  to  refer  for  the  proof  or  disproof  of  doctrines 
solely  or  chiefly,  to  any,  the  most  justly  venerated,  human 
authority,  is  to  rob  Scripture  of  its  due  dignity  and  proper 
office,  and  go  so  far  on  the  way  to  establish  the  dangerous 
and  encroaching  precedent,  of  substituting  human  authority 
for  Divine. 


82  UNDUE    DEFERENCE    TO    HUMAN    AUTHORITY. 

If  any  human  interpretation  or  comment  is  to  be  received 
implicitly  and  ^vithout  ajipeal,  it  is  placed  practically,  as  far 
as  relates  to  everything  except  a  mere  question  of  dii/iiitt/, 
on  a  level  with  Scripture.  Among  the  Parliamentarians  at 
the  time  of  the  civil  war,  there  were  many,  at  first  a  great 
majority,  who  professed  to  obey  the  king's  commands,  as 
notified  to  tliem  by  Parliament,  and  levied  forces  in  the 
king's  name,  against  liis  person.  If  any  one  admitted  Par- 
liament to  be  the  sole  and  authoritative  interpreter  and  ex- 
pounder of  the  regal  commands,  and  this,  without  any  check 
from  any  other  power,  it  is  plain  that  he  virtually  admitted 
the  sovereignty  of  that  Parliament,  just  as  much  as  if  he  had 
recognized  their  formal  deposition  of  the  king. 

As  in  the  attempt  to  make  both  gold  and  silver  the  stand- 
ard of  currency,  it  will  be  found  that  any  variation,  however 
slight  or  however  unfrcquent,  in  their  relative  value,  is  suffi- 
cient to  throw  all  accounts  into  confusion ;  so  the  endeavor 
at  conformity  in  doctrine  to  the  scriptural  and  the  orthodox, 
is  to  strive  for  an  unattainable  object,  unattainable  for  the 
same  reason  that  no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  not  because 
they  are  necessarily  leading  opposite  ways,  but  simply  because 
they  arc  two  and  not  one. 

However  near  the  adherents  of  the  "  orthodox"  and  the 
"scriptural"  respectively  may  appear  in  regard  of  the  doc- 
trines which  they  hold,  still  they  go  on  different  principles, 
like  one  man  going  by  the  clock,  and  another  by  the  sun- 
dial. And  he  who  aims  at  conforming  to  each  of  two  stand- 
ards, is  "^  double-minded  man,"  and  will  be  "unstable  in 
all  his  ways." 

Divine  Truth  must  be  no  more  tauglit  as  the  commandments 
of  men,  than  the  commandments  of  men  as  Divine  Truth. 


UNDUE    DEFERENCE    TO    HUMAN    AUTHORITY.  83 

Human  toacliinGi;  in  relijiiion  is  hiirlily  useful  so  loua;  as 
Scripture  proof  is  readily  produced.  It  bears  tlie  same  rela- 
tion to  Scripture,  that  Avhat  is  called  paper-currency  does  to 
gold  and  silver.  Its  sole  value  lies  in  the  knowledge  that  it 
is  convertible,  on  demand,  into  the  precious  metal  it  repre- 
sents. 

The  claim  to  infallibility  for  human  decisions,  and  the 
comparative  disregard  to  Scripture,  are  the  effect,  not  the 
cause,  of  that  tendency  to  pay  undue  deference  to  human 
authority,  from  which,  arising  as  it  does  in  the  principles  of 
our  nature,  Ave  can  never  be  secure  but  by  continual  self- 
distrust,  and  by  referring  at  every  step  "  to  the  Law  and  to 
the  Testimony," — continually  tracing  up  the  stream  of  reli- 
gious knowledge  to  the  pure  fountain-head  of  Scripture.  The 
care,  and  diligence,  and  patient  thought,  and  watchful  obser- 
vation, required  for  this  drawing  for  ourselves  the  Christian 
truths,  will  be  repaid,  by  our  having  through  Divine  grace, 
those  truths  ultimately  fixed  in  the  heart,  as  well  as  in  the 
understanding.  We  shall  not  only  "read,"  but,  "mark, 
learn,  and  inwardly  digest"  them,  so  that  the  heavenly 
nourishment  will  enter  into  our  whole  frame,  and  make  us 
not  merely  sound  theologians,  but  sincere  Christians,  and 
good  men,  truly  "  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus." 

In  guarding  against  excessive  deference  and  exclusive 
regard  to  authority  of  persons,  rather  than  arguments,  (which 
is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  chief  fallacies  against  which  men 
ought  to  bo  cautioned,)  it  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  if  the 
opposite  mode  of  judging,  in  every  case,  were  to  be  adopted 
without  limitation,  it  is  plain  that  children  could  not  be  edu- 
cated.    Indeed,  happily  for  the  world,  most   of  them  Avho 


84  UNDUE   DEFERENCE   TO   HUMAN   AUXnORITY. 

should  be  allowed  to  proceed  on  this  plan,  would,  in  conse- 
quence, perish  in  cliildhood.  A  pious  Christian,  again,  has 
the  same  implicit  reliance  on  his  God,  even  when  unable  to 
judge  of  the  reasonableness  of  His  commands  and  dispensa- 
tions, as  a  dutiful  and  affectionate  child  has  on  a  tender 
parent.  Now  though  such  a  man  is,  of  course,  regarded  by 
an  Atheist  as  weak  and  absurd,  it  is  surely  on  account  of  his 
belief,  not  of  his  consequent  conduct,  that  he  is  so  regarded. 
Even  Atheists  would  in  general  admit  that  he  is  acting  rea- 
sonably, on  the  supposition  that  there  is  a  God,  who  has 
revealed  Himself  to  man. 

lie  who  renounces  all  pretensions  to  infallibility,  whether 
an  immediate,  and  personal,  or  a  derived  infallibility,  by 
owning  himself  to  be  neither  impeccable  nor  infallible,  and  by 
consenting  to  undergo  the  trials  of  vigilance  and  of  patience, 
which  God  has  appointed  for  him,  need  not  fear  to  forfeit  by 
this  the  attainment  of  truth — all  cheerful  hope  of  final  salva- 
tion,—  all  "joy  and  peace  in  believing."  On  the  contrary, 
while  such  as  have  sought  for  peace  —  for  mental  tran- 
quillity and  satisfaction — rather  than  for  truth,  will  often  fail 
both  of  truth  and  peace ;  he  who  seeks  truth  first,  is  more 
likely  to  attain  both,  from  his  gracious  Master.  He  has  bid 
us  watch  and  pray;  lie  has  taught  us,  through  His  blessed 
Apostle  to  "take  heed  to  ourselves,"  and  to  "work  out  our 
own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  ;"  and  He  has  declared 
that  He  "  worketh  in  us ;"  He  has  bid  us  "  rejoice  in  hope  ;" 
He  has  promised  that  He  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  "tempted 
above  that  we  are  able  to  bear;"  and  lie  has  taught  us  to 
look  forward  to  the  time,  when  we  shall  no  longer  see  as  by 
means  of  a  mirror  "darkly,"  but  "fiice  to  face;" — when  we 
shall  know,  not  "in  part,"  but  "even  as  we  are  known;" — 
when    faith   shall   be  succeeded  by  certainty,  and  hope  be 


THE   LOVE   OF   APPROBATIOTST.  85 

ripened  into  enjoyment.  His  precepts  and  his  promises  go 
together ;  His  support  and  comfort  arc  given  to  those  "^yho 
seek  for  them  in  the  way  He  has  himself  appointed. 


XIV.   The  Love    of  Approbation  and  the   Dread   of 

Censure. 

Human  approbation  is  a  very  good  thing,  when  it  happens 
to  come  incidentally ;  but  it  must  never  bo  made  an  object. 
The  desire  of  truth  must  reign  supreme,  and  everything  else 
be  welcomed  only  if  coming  in  her  train. 

Deference  for  the  (supposed)  wise  and  good,  and  love  of 
approbation,  are  two  very  distinct  things,  though  in  practice 
very  difficult  to  be  distinguished.  The  former  may  be  felt 
towards  those  whom  wo  never  can  meet  with — who,  perhaps, 
were  dead,  ages  before  we  were  born,  and  survive  only  in 
their  writings.  A  man's  desire  to  find  himself  in  agreement 
with  Aristotle,  or  Bacon,  or  Locke,  or  Paley,  &c.,  however 
misplaced,  or  excessive,  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  their 
approval  of  liim.  But  when  he  is  glad  to  concur  with  some 
living  friends,  whom  he  thinks  highly  of,  and  dreads  to  difier 
from,  then,  it  is  very  difficult  to  decide  how  far  this  feeling 
is  the  presumjjtion  framed  by  his  judgment,  in  favour  of  the 
correctness  of  their  views  ;  and  how  far  it  is  the  desire  of 
their  approbation  and  sympathy,  and  dread  of  the  reverse. 
It  is  the  desire  of  personal  approbation,  the  excessive  care 
concerning  what  is  thought  of  himself,  that  the  lover  of 
truth  is  bound  so  severely  to  check. 


86  THE   LOVE   OF  APPROBATION,  ETC. 

The  lover  of  Ti'uth,  for  its  own  sake,  must  set  himself  to 
act  as  if  he  cared  notliino;  for  either  censure  or  approval, 
and  in  time  he  gets  hardened  as  the  Canadians  do  to  walking 
in  snow-shoes  (raquets).  At  first  a  man  is  almost  crippled 
with  the  "waZ  an  racjuet," — the  pain  and  swelling  of  the 
feet ;  but  the  prescription  is  to  go  on  walking  in  them,  as  if 
you  felt  nothing  at  all,  and  in  a  few  days  you  do  feel  nothing. 
And  this  Avill  always  he  the  case,  more  or  less,  through 
God's  help,  with  him  who  earnestly  seeks  to  act  unto  the 
Lord  and  not  unto  men,  if  he  will  persevere,  and  persevere 
from  a  right  motwe. 

Much  eloquence  and  ingenuity  is  often  exerted,  in  des- 
canting on  the  propriety  of  not  being  wholly  indifferent  to 
the  opinions  formed  of  one  —  the  impossibility  of  eradicating 
the  regard  for  approbation  —  and  the  folly  of  attempting  it, 
or  pretending  to  it,  &c.  Now  this  is  all  very  true  ;  the  pro- 
pensity to  desire  to  gain  approval  and  escape  censure,  we  are 
not  called  on  to  extirpate,  (that  being,  I  conceive,  impossible;) 
but  our  care  and  pains  are  better  bestowed  in  keeping  under 
the  feeling,  than  in  vindicating  it.  It  must  be  treated  like 
the  grass  on  a  lawn  which  you  wish  to  keep  in  good  order ; 
you  neither  attempt  nor  wish  to  destroy  the  grass ;  but  you 
mow  it  down  from  time  to  time,  as  close  as  you  possibly  can, 
Avoll  trusting  that  there  will  be  quite  enough  left,  and  that  it 
will  be  sure  to  grow  again. 

To  obtain  the  approbation  of  the  wise  and  good  by  doing 
what  is  right,  simply  because  it  is  right,  is  most  gratifying  to 
that  natural  and  allowable  wish,  to  escape  the  censure  and 
claim  the  approval  of  our  fellow-creatures  ;  but  to  make  this 
gratification,  either  wholly  or  partly,  our  object — to  hold  up 
a  finger  on  purpose  to  gain  the  applause  of  the  whole  world, 


MISTAKEN    REGARD    TO    UNITY.  87 

is  unjustifiable.  One  difficulty  in  acting  on  this  principle  is, 
that  it  often  is  even  a  duty  to  seek  the  good  opinion  of 
others,  not  as  an  ultimate  object  for  its  own  sake,  but  for 
the  sake  of  influencing  them  for  their  own  benefit,  and  that 
of  others.  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they 
may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  in 
heaven."  But  we  are  to  watch  and  analyse  the  motives  of 
even  actions  which  we  are  sure  are  in  themselves  right.  And 
this  is  a  kind  of  vigilance  which  human  nature  is  always 
struggling  to  escape.  One  class  of  men  are  satisfied  so  long 
as  they  do  what  is  justifiable; — what  may  be  done  from  a 
good  motive  and  when  so  done  would  be  right,  and  which 
therefore  may  be  satisfactorily  defended.  Another  class  — 
the  ascetic  —  are  for  cutting  off  every  thing  that  may  be  a 
snare.  They  have  heard  of  "  the  deceitfulness  of  riches," 
and  so  they  vow  poverty ;  which  is  less  trouble  than  watching 
their  motives  in  gaining  and  spending  money.  And  so  on 
with  the  rest.  But  if  we  would  cut  off  all  temptation,  we 
must  cut  off  our  heads  at  once. 

Neither  human  applause,  nor  human  censure,  is  to  be 
taken  as  the  test  of  truth;  but  either  should  set  us  upon 
testing  ourselves. 


XV.  Mistaken  Regard  to  Unity. 

Agreement  in  religion  is  not  genuine  Christian  concord, 
unless  it  be  agreement  in  the  genuine  religion  of  the  Gospel. 

Those  who  reach  truth  will  reach  unity ;  for  truth  is  one. 
But  men  may,  and  often  do,  gain  unity  without  truth — which 


Hq  mistaken  regard  to  unity. 

is  so  far  from  being  a  good  that  it  is  a  great  evil.  It  makes 
falsehood  strong,  and  the  professors  of  it  contented  in  their 
error. 

"  No  man  can  serve  two  masters,"  because  "when  they  are 
radically  opposed  "  lie  Avill  love  the  one  and  hate  the  other  ;" 
and  because,  even  though  not  necessarily  opposed,  they  are 
not  necessarily  combined  ;  and  cases  will  sometimes  arise,  in 
■\vhich  he  must  "cleave  to  the  one  and  despise"  (disregard, 
and  neglect)  "  the  other."  There  is  not  anything  necesarily 
•wrong  in  aiming  at  temporal  advantages.  But  whoever  has 
resolved  on  obtaining  wealth  in  one  way  or  in  another,  will 
sometimes  be  led  to  violate  duty ;  and  he,  again,  Avho  is  fully 
bent  on  "  seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness," will  sometimes  find  himself  called  on  to  renounce 
temporal  advantages,  which,  through  the  honesty,  frugality, 
and  temperance  which  he  had  practised  from  higher  motives, 
he  may  have  attained.  And  so  it  is  with  the  occasionally- 
rival  claims  of  truth  and  of  unity,  or  of  any  two  objects  which 
may  possibly  be  in  some  instances  opposed.  We  must  make 
up  our  minds  which,  is,  in  that  case,  to  give  way.  One  must 
be  the  supreme  —  must  be  the  "master." 

A  mistaken  notion  of  the  Christian  unity  spoken  of  in  tlio 
Scriptures,  which  represents  it  as  consisting  in  having  one 
coyntnuniiij  on  earth  to  which  all  Christians  belong  or  ought 
to  belong,  and  to  whose  government  all  are  bound  to  submit, 
has  led  to  truth  being  made  the  secondary,  and  not  the  para- 
mount object. 

The  Church  is  undoubtedly  one,  and  so  is  the  human  race 
one  ;  but  not  as  a  society,  for  as  such,  it  is  only  one,  when 
considered  as  to  its  future  existence.     Its  present  unity  con- 


MISTAKEN   REGARD   TO   UNITY.  89 

Bists  in  that  its  various  societies  arc  designed  to  be  inodelled 
on  the  same  principles,  and  to  enjoy  common  privileges ; 
*'  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism ;"  and  all  forming  part 
of  that  great  society  of  which  the  Head  is  in  heaven,  and  of 
%Yhich  many  of  the  members  only  "live  unto  God"  or  exist 
in  His  counsels  ;  some  having  long  since  departed,  and  some 
being  not  yet  born.  The  term  unity  is  applicable  to  the 
Universal  Church,  as  one  in  reference  to  its  Supreme  Head 
in  heaven,  not  as  one  community  on  earth,  as  the  human 
race  is  one  in  respect  of  the  One  Creator  and  Governor ;  but 
this  does  not  make  it  one  family  or  one  state. 

The  Apostles  founded  Christian  Churches,  all  based  on  the 
same  principles,  and  having  the  same  object  in  view,  but  all 
quite  independent  of  each  other.  And  while,  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  Him  who  knew  what  was  in  man,  they  delineated 
those  Christian  principles,  which  man  could  not  have  devised 
for  himself,  each  Church  has  been  left  by  the  same  Divine 
foresight,  to  make  the  application  of  those  principles  in  its 
symbols,  its  forms  of  worship,  and  its  ecclesiastical  regula- 
tions ;  and  while  steering  its  course  by  the  chart  and  com- 
pass, which  His  holy  Word  supplies,  to  regulate  for  itself  the 
sails  and  rudder,  according  to  the  winds  and  currents  it  may 
meet  with.  Now  I  have  little  doubt,  that  the  sort  of  varia- 
tion resulting  from  this  independence  and  freedom,  so  far 
from  breaking  the  bond  of  peace  is  the  best  preservative  of 
it.  A  number  of  neighbouring  families,  living  in  perfect  unity, 
will  be  thrown  into  discord  as  soon  as  you  compel  them  to 
form  one  family,  and  to  observe  in  things  intrinsically  indif- 
fei'ent,  the  same  rules  :  one  e.  g.,  likes  early  hours,  and  another 
late ;  one  likes  the  windows  open  and  another  shut ;  and  thus 
by  being  brought  too  close  together,  they  are  driven  into  ill- 
Avill,  by  one  being  perpetually  forced  to  give  way  to  another. 


90  MISTAKEN   REGARD   TO    UNITY. 

Of  this  cliaracter  were  the  disputations  -which  arose  (thou<»h 
they  suhsequently  assumed  a  diflercnt  character)  ahout 
church-music,  the  posture  of  the  communicants,  the  colours 
of  a  minister's  dress,  the  time  of  keeping  Easter,  kc.  &c. 

To  vindicate  our  own  or  any  other  Church  not  on  the  rea- 
sonahle  ground,  that  they  are  not  at  variance  ■with  gospel- 
jn-inciples,  or  with  any  Divine  injunction  designed  to  be  of 
universal  obligation,  but  on  the  ground  of  the  exact  con- 
formity, which  it  is  notorious  they  do  not  possess,  to  the  most 
ancient  models,  and  even  to  go  beyond  this  and  condemn  all 
Christians  whose  institutions  and  ordinances  are  not  "  one 
and  utterly  like"  our  own,  on  the  ground  of  their  departure 
from  the  apostolical  precedent,  which  no  Church  has  exactly 
adhered  to — docs  seem,  to  use  no  harsher  expression,  not  a 
little  inconsistent  and  unreasonable.  This  principle  would 
go  to  exclude  at  once  from  the  pale  of  Christ's  Church, 
almost  every  Christian  body,  since  the  first  two  or  three  cen- 
turies. 

Any  system  that  makes  unity  the  primary  and  indispensa- 
ble object  to  which  all  else  must  be  sacrificed,  robs  its  adhe- 
rents of  the  character  of  witnesses ;  Avhilc  minor  difierences 
make  all  the  more  undeniable  and  real,  the  testimony  from 
the  agreement  in  essential  truth  of  persons  left  free  to  ex- 
amine. The  testimony  (to  use  a  simple  and  obvious  illustra- 
tion) of  even  a  small  number  of  eye-ivitnesses  of  any  transac- 
tion, even  though  possessing  no  extraordinary  powers  of 
vision,  would  outweigh  that  of  countless  millions,  who  should 
have  resolved  to  close  their  eyes,  and  to  receive  and  retail 
the  report  they  heard  from  a  single  individual. 

Our  religion  was  designed  to  renew  indeed,  but  not  to  sub- 


MISTAKEN   REGARD   TO    UNITY.  91 

vert  our  nature — to  exalt  and  purify  each  individual,  but  not 
to  destroy  his  individuality.  "Whatever  points  are  faulty,  in- 
deed, must  be  corrected  by  our  religion,  or  it  will  not  have 
done  its  proper  "work ;  but  many  differences  of  taste  and 
temper  still  remain,  (and  will  give  a  certain  tinge,  even  to 
the  religion  itself  of  each  man,)  which  are  in  nowise  hurtful, 
but  may  even  be  rendered  serviceable  to  the  general  cause, — 
and  which  ought  no  more  to  be  made  a  source  of  mutual 
jealousy  and  dissension,  than  the  diversity  of  spiritual  gifts 
among  the  early  Christians. 

We  must  carefully  guard  against  confounding  intellectual 
deficiencies  with  heretical  perversity  of  will,  remembering 
that  the  honest  endeavours  after  religious  knowledge,  the 
sincere  faith  and  diligent  obedience  of  those  of  feeble  under- 
standing or  of  uncultivated  mind,  are  accepted  by  Him,  in 
whose  sight  the  wisest  and  ablest  are  but  mere  weakness  and 
ignorance. 

The  princij^le  of  sacrificing  truth  to  unity  creeps  in  gradu- 
ally. The  sacrifice  first  demanded,  is  in  general,  not  a  great 
one.  Men  are  led  on  step  by  step,  from  silence  as  to  some 
mistake,  to  connivance  at  fallacies,  and  thence  to  suppres- 
sion, and  then  to  misrepresentation  of  truth,  and  ultimately, 
to  the  support  of  known  falsehood. 

Unity,  when  made  the  first  object,  is  always  an  evil,  since, 
besides  the  possibility  that  men  may  be  united  in  what  is 
erroneous  and  wrong  in  itself,  it  must  be  remembered,  that 
whatever  absolute  truth  there  may  be  in  what  is  assented  to 
on  such  a  principle,  it  is  not  truth,  to  those  Avho  assent  to  it 
not  on  conviction  but  fur  union's  sake. 


92  MISTAKEN    IlEOAUD   TO    UNITY. 

Peace  is  too  dearly  purcliascJ  by  slavery  of  any  kind,  es- 
pecially spiritual  slavery. 

Controversy,  though  always  an  evil  in  itself,  is  sometimes 
a  necessary  evil. 

To  give  up  everything  that  is  worth  contending  about,  in 
order  to  prevent  hurtful  contentions,  is,  for  the  sake  of  ex- 
tirpating noxious  weeds,  to  condemn  the  field  to  perpetual 
sterility.  ^ 

Though  the  recollection  that  all  sincere  Christians  have  a 
common  cause  to  maintain  against  falsehood,  should  not  pre- 
vent us  from  pointing  out  the  errors  of  our  fellow  Christians, 
yet  it  should  certainly  influence  the  manner  of  our  doing  so. 

As  controversy  should  always  be  regarded  as  an  evil  in  it- 
self, to  be  incurred  only  when  necessary  for  the  sake  of  im- 
portant good,  this  principle  acted  upon  would  alone  exclude 
three  diflferent  classes  of  subjects,  all  calculated  to  gender 
strife  ;  those  which  relate  to  matters,  first,  too  deep  and  mys- 
terious ;  or,  secondly,  too  minute  and  trifling ;  or,  thirdly, 
too  speculative  and  remote  from  Christian  practice. 

The  agitation  of  questions  respecting  the  hidden  counsels 
and  nature  of  the  Most  High,  has  a  peculiar  tendency  to 
gender  strife ;  for  in  a  case  where  correct"  knowledge  is  im- 
possible to  any,  and  where  all  are,  in  fact,  in  the  wrong, 
there  is  but  little  likeliliood  of  agreement ;  like  men  who 
should  rashly  venture  to  explore  a  strange  land  in  utter 
darkness,  they  will  be  scattered  into  a  thousand  devious 
paths. 


MISTAKEN   REGARD   TO    UNITY.  93 

Those  "who,  having  magnified  into  serious  evils,  hj  inju- 
dicious opposition,  licresies  in  themselves  insignificant,  yet 
appeal  to  the  magnitude  of  those  evils  to  prove  that  their  op- 
position was  called  for,  act  like  unskilful  physicians,  "v>'ho, 
■when  by  violent  remedies,  they  have  aggravated  a  trifling 
disease  into  a  dangerous  one,  urge  the  violence  of  the  symp- 
toms Avhich  they  themselves  have  produced  in  justification  of 
their  practice. 

Men  are  usually  no  less  jealous  of  names  than  of  things  ; 
it  is  therefore  Avise  as  well  as  charitable,  not  to  insist,  when 
the  substance  of  truth  is  secured,  on  their  adopting  any  form 
of  stating  it,  offensive  to  them. 

So  important  are  words  in  influencing  our  thoughts,  and 
so  great  is  their  ambiguity,  that  no  caution  can  be  too  great 
in  the  use  of  language  in  religious  discussions,  if  we  would 
not  lay  the  foundation  of  incurable  and  most  mischievous 
perplexity. 

Ho  who  in  any  discussion  with  those  who  differ  from  him, 
desires  to  unite  the  Avisdom  of  the  serpent  with  the  harmless- 
ness  of  the  dove,  had  better  begin  Avith  the  points  of  agree- 
ment, rather  than  of  difference ;  and  to  point  out,  and  give 
them  full  credit  for  whatever  truths  may  belong  to  their  sys- 
tem, instead  of  confining  himself  to  its  errors.  Eor  there 
cannot  be  any  profitable  discussion  betAveen  parties,  who,  not 
agreed  in  some  thing,  haA'^e  no  common  ground  to  stand 
upon.  Who  Avill  admit  the  conclusion  that  has  not  admitted 
the  premises?  Moreover,  falsehood  can  never  gain  assent 
except  by  being  mixed  up  with  some  truth ;  like  a  poison  dis- 
guised in  some  Avholesome  substance.  And  as  truth  cannot 
of  itself  lead  to  error,  but  only  to  other  truths  which  legiti- 


94  MISTAKEN  REGARD   TO   UNITY. 

mately  follow  from  it,  the  most  eiFectual  way  of  decomposing 
(to  use  a  chemical  expression)  such  a  mixtiu'C,  is,  to  ascertain 
first,  the  true  portion  of  it,  and  show  that  this  has  no  neces- 
sary connexion  with  the  falsehood  with  ^Yhich  it  has  been 
combined. 

The  universal  and  constant  liability,  to  forget  in  the  heat 
of  controversy  every  thing  hut  the  matter  in  debate,  to 
tliink  of  nothing  but  of  proving  the  present  point,  and  to 
resort  to  any  means  of  accomplishing  the  purpose  in  hand, 
regardless  of  the  possibility  of  future  mischiefs  in  a  different 
quarter,  is,  when  carried  out  into  practice,  a  seeming  viola- 
tion of  the  command  given  to  the  Israelites  in  their  sieges, 
not  to  cut  down  trees  which  afford  food  for  man,  to  construct 
their  warlike  engines ;  but  to  keep  sacred  from  the  ravages 
of  war,  what  would  be  useful  in  the  future  days  of  peace. 

We  should  continually  examine  ourselves  whether  we  are 
arguing  for  the  love  of  truth,  or  the  love  of  triumph. 

There  is  perhaps  no  one  cause  that  contributes  to  harden 
men  in  error,  and  in  misconduct  of  any  kind,  than  the  dread 
that  a  confession  of  having  been  wrong,  will  be  met  by  hu- 
miliating exultation. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  while  unity  among  Chris- 
tians is  an  object  so  desirable  that  everything  but  truth 
should  be  sacrificed  to  it,  it  must  after  all  depend  on  others^ 
as  much  as  on  ourselves  ;  and  our  endeavours  to  promote  it, 
may  be  completely  defeated  through  their  fault ;  truth  is  a 
benefit — and  a  benefit  of  the  first  importance — to  those  who 
receive  it  themselves,  even  though  they  should  have  to 
lament  its  rejection  by  many  others. 


PARTY-SPIRIT.  95 

To  labour  for  peace  with  man,  is  the  Christian's  duty ;  to 
labour  often  vainly,  is  his  apj^ointed  trial ;  peace  with  God  is 
his  promised  consolation ;  and  eternal  peace  will  be  his  "  ex- 
ceeding great  reward." 


XVL  Party-Spirit. 

•    The  tendency  of  party-spirit  has  ever  been  to  disguise, 
and  propagate,  and  support  error. 

Tartj-spirit  is  the  excess  and  perversion  of  a  legitimate, 
limited  social  feeling,  that  may  be  designated  i^iixij -feeling  ; 
and,  deriving  itself  from  the  same  springs  as  the  love  of 
kindred  or  of  country,  though  neither  so  sacred  as  the  first 
of  these,  nor  so  noble  as  the  second,  is  yet  as  natural  as 
either. 

As  kindled  brands,  if  left  to  themselves  separately,  would 
be  soon  extinct,  but,  Avhen  thrown  together,  burst  into  a 
blaze,  so  is  every  feeling  heightened  immeasurably  in  ardour 
by  the  union  of  men  in  parties. 

Party-spirit  enlists  man's  virtues  in  the  cause  of  his  vices. 

He  who  would  desire  to  have  an  accurate  description  of 
party-spirit,  need  only  go  through  Paul's  description  of 
Charity,  reversing  every  point  in  the  detail. 

If  it  be  hard  to  keep  clear,  it  is  still  harder  to  become, 
clear  of  party. 


9n  PARTY-SPIIIIT. 

The  wisli  to  tliinlc  it  justifiable  to  agree  ■\^•ith,  and  adhere 
to,  a  party,  is  likely  to  bias  a  man's  judgment,  rather  than 
to  inlluencc  liim  contrary  to  his  judgment. 

The  connexion  of  sound  and  erroneous  views,  resulting 
from  their  being  both  held  by  the  same  party,  tends  to  es- 
stablish  and  propagate  error.  In  the  usual  adoption  by  each 
member  of  the  doctrines,  in  the  mass,  -whatever  may  chance 
to  be  ivrong  in  this  set  of  opinions  and  principles,  is  likely  to 
pass  unobserved,  or  to  be  disguised  as  to  its  real  character, 
by  its  artificial  connexion  with  so  much  that  has  been  so  long 
regarded  as  right. 

Many  a  one  is  so  far  gone  in  party  as  to  be  i^r  oof -'proof, 
and  cares  no  more  for  facts  than  the  Leviathan  does  for 
spears. 

That  preference  of  the  means  to  the  end,  of  the  distinc- 
tions of  a  party  to  the  truth,  for  the  defence  or  prumulga- 
tion  of  ■which  it  was  originally  formed,  which  is  one  grand 
characteristic  of  party-spirit,  is  like  the  sedulously  guarduig 
and  keeping  in  repair  the  fortifications  of  a  city,  while  the 
city  itself  is  suff'ered  to  fall  into  decay ;  or,  like  the  clinging 
to  a  standard,  while  the  cause  in  which  it  was  uplifted  is 
forgotten. 

Some  men  have  but  little  fear  either  of  lukewarmness  or 
religious  ignorance,  in  comparison  of  heterodoxy  or  dissent, 
and,  careless  Avhetlier  tlieir  brethren  be  Christians  provided 
they  be  not  sectaries,  would,  as  it  were,  condemn  tliom  to 
perish  by  famine,  lest  they  should  use  unAvliolesome  food. 
They  say  with  the  disciples,  "  We  forbade  him  to  cast  out 
demons  because  he  joined  not  with  us." 


PARTY-SPIRIT.  -  97 

Every  now  and  then,  a  case  occurs  which  affords  (Bacon's) 
experimentum  cruets,  whether  the  truth  a  man  actually  holds, 
and  for  which  there  is  good  evidence,  is  held  by  him  ow  evi- 
dence, and  as  truth,  or  as  jiart  of  the  creed  of  a  party. 

Nineteen  twentieths  are  so  biassed  by  party  views,  that 
what  is  (fommunicated  by  them  is,  in  respect  of  knowledge,  a 
kind  of  negative  quantity.  It  is  a  one-sided  view,  much  more 
misleading  than  total  ignorance ;  and  yet  they  give  very 
often  their  own  real  impressions.  Just  as  on  an  Irish  jaunt- 
ing-car, the  parties,  sitting  back  to  back,  give,  at  the  end  of 
a  tour,  a  faithful  report  of  what  they  have  seen,  quite  at 
variance  with  each  other,  having  hardly  caught  even  a  glimpse 
of  the  same  objects. 

It  is  only  when  error  is  seen  to  be  opposed,  not  because 
maintained  by  such  and  such  persons,  but  because  it  is  error, 
that  it  is  seen  that  it  is  the  love  of  truth,  and  not  party-spirit, 
that  influences  to  that  opposition.  It  was  thus  that  the  Lord 
braved  the  disappointment  of  the  Pharisees  at  His  censures 
of  them,  after  "  He  had  put  the  Sadducees  to  silence." 

The  adoption  by  several  persons  of  the  same  views  on 
sincere  conviction,  and  not  in  deference  to  one  another's 
a,uthority,  is  so  far  from  constituting  them  a  party,  that,  on 
the  contrary,  party-spirit  is  most  decidedly  shown  in  respect 
of  those  points  wherein  men,  not  coinciding  in  their  judg- 
ments, make  mutual  sacrifices  of  their  respective  opinions, 
just  as  the  Roman  triumvir,  each  sacrificed  some  of  his  owa 
friends  to  the  joint  proscription. 

Men  may  be  very  wrong  on  the  right  side.     Parties  are 
apt  to  generate  parties,  because  men's   abhorrence   of  the 
9 


98  TIIK   SPIRIT   OF    PERSECUTION. 

extreme  into  Avliieh  one  party  has  been  hurried  leads  them 
too  often  to  form  an  opposite  party,  that  before  long,  rushes 
into  an  extreme  on  the  opposite  side. 

General  and  indefinite  adherence  to  a  religious  party,  is  a 
setting  up  man  in  the  place  of  God  —  "Lord,  I  ^vill  follow 
thee  whithersoever  thou  goest,"  is  the  expression  of  precisely 
that  sort  of  allegiance  -which  is  due  to  God  and  not  to  man. 
''Be  not  ye  called  master,  for  one  is  your  Master,  even 
Christ." 


XVII.  The  Spinix  of  Persecution. 

TRrxir  is  under  a  veil,  and  its  proper  aspect  disguised, 
■when  suj)ported  by  means  which  might  ei^ually  supjjort  false- 
hood. 

To  employ  force  instead  of  sound  reasons,  in  opposing 
religious  error  and  infidelity,  is  to  throw  away  the  only  wea- 
pons peculiar  to  truth,  and  the  only  ones  that  give  truth  an 
advantage,  to  take  up  those  which  can  give  it  none. 

The  question.  What  religion  is  true  ?  and  the  question  as 
to  the  way  in  which  the  professors  of  a  religion  we  deem  to 
be  false  should  be  treated,  are  often  confounded. 

It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  He  who  declared  lie 
could  have  called  in  the  aid  of  "  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels,"  and  to  wliom  "all  power  was  given  in  heaven  and 
in  earth,"  sent  forth  His  disciples  not  to  suhjugate  or  to 
coprce,  Init  to  ^^  tt-ach  all  nations." 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    PERSECUTION.  99 

Our  Lord  did  not  merely  claim  spiritu.il  dominion,  but  He 
also  renounced  temporal  —  lie  declared  not  merely  that  His 
kingdom  is  of  the  next  world,  but  that  it  is  not  of  this  world. 
And  this  He  did,  Avhen  on  his  trial  before  a  Roman  governor 
for  treason,  —  for  a  design  to  subvert,  or  in  some  way  inter- 
fere with,  the  established  government.  To  this  charge,  it  is 
plain  Pilate  understood  Him  to  plead  not  guilty,  and  gave 
credit  to  His  plea,  amounting  as  it  did  to  a  renunciation  of 
all  secular  coercion, — all  forcible  measures  in  behalf  of  His 
religion. 

As  the  very  Apostles  who  inculcated,  without  any  express 
limitation  or  exception,  submission  to  civic  rulers,  and  though 
Pagans,  described  them  as  powers  ^^  ordained  of  God"  for 
the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  yet  taught  men,  both  by  precept 
and  example,  to  hold  fast  their  faith  in  disobedience  to  the 
commands  of  the  rulers  ;  it  is  manifest  they  must  have  meant, 
and  their  hearers  must  have  understood  them  to  mean,  that 
the  province  of  the  civil  roller  is  limited  to  secular  concerns. 
For  civil  magistrates,  therefore,  to  employ  their  coercive 
power  in  the  cause  of  Christianity  is  not,  as  some  think,  to 
act,  as  civil  magistrates,  on  Christian  principles,  but  rather 
to  cease  to  act  on  them. 

Men  too  often  employ  that  violence  in  the  cause  of  Avhat 
they  believe  to  be  Divine  truth,  which  Jesus  Himself  and  His 
Apostles  expressly  foibade  in  the  cause  of  what  thei/  knew 
to  be  Divine  truth. 

There  is  not  necessarily  anything  of  the  character  of  per- 
secution in  doing  violence  to  a  man's  conscience,  for  so  long 
as  false  conscience,   or   an   erroneous  conscience  is  to  be 


100  THE    SPIRIT   OF   PERSECUTION. 

found,  the  pica  of  conscience  would  tend  to  tlic  subversion 
of  the  whole  fabric  of  society. 

To  refuse  or  withhold  on  religious  grounds  anything  to 
which  a  man  had  no  previously  existing  right,  is  not  perse- 
cution ;  but  merely  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  the  person 
Avithholding  to  do  what  he  "will  with  his  own."  It  might 
indicate  a  disposition  to  persecute,  but  does  not  involve  the 
principle  of  persecution. 

The  distinction  between  a  civil  or  political  right  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  moral  right  on  the  other,  is  of  incalculable  im- 
portance. By  rights  of  conscience,  is  to  be  understood,  not 
necessarily  that  every  one  is  right  in  the  religion  that  he 
adopts,  but  that  his  neighbours  have  no  right  to  interfere 
with  his  right.  A  man  has  a  right,  not  necessarily  a  moral 
right,  but  a  civil  right,  to  worship  God  according  to  his  own 
conscience,  without  suffering  any  hardship  at  the  hand  of  his 
neighbour  for  so  doing. 

There  are  no  two  things  more  often  confounded,  yet  more 
perfectly  distinct,  than  liberal  tolerance  and  latitudinarian 
iudifTerence. 

A  man  may  advocate  the  removal  of  all  religious  disabili- 
ties consistently,  and  on  intelligible  principles  quite  distinct 
from  universal  religious  indifference ;  but  to  retain  some  by 
way  of  proclaiming  that  he  is  not  indifferent,  and  yet  to 
allow  the  removal  of  others,  is  plainly  to  proclaim  indiffer- 
ence as  to  the  latter. 

Conscientious  sincerity  is  friendly  to  tolerance  as  latitudi- 
narian indilTcrence  is  to  intolerance,     lie  who  is  ready  to 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    PERSECUTION.  101 

profess  what  lie  does  not  believe,  will  see  no  reason  why 
others  should  not  do  the  same  ;  while  he  whose  own  conscience 
is  tender,  will  be  the  more  disposed  to  respect  tlie  conscience 
of  another,  and  to  admit  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  men  to  act 
upon  their  own  convictions,  in  that  way  in  which  he  thinks 
it  a  duty  to  act  upon  his. 

To  defend  the  precluding  any,  on  account  of  religion,  from 
civil  rights,  on  the  ground  that  any  master  of  a  family  as- 
sumes the  right  of  requiring  all  the  members  of  his  house- 
hold to  profess  the  religion  he  thinks  best,  is  to  take  for 
granted  that  each  country  belongs  to  its  governor  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  house  of  any  individual  belongs  to  him. 

As  no  tree  is  withered  by  the  frost  of  the  polar  regions, 
or  by  the  scorching  winds  of  the  Arabian  deserts,  because 
none  can  exist  in  those  regions ;  so  there  is  no  actual  perse- 
cution in  those  countries  where  persecution  has  done  its 
work,  in  crushing  and  preventing  all  resistance  to  religious 
error.  Therefore,  the  absence  of  the  infliction  does  not  im- 
ply the  absence  of  the  spirit  of  persecution. 

Persecution  is  not  wrong  because  it  is  cruel;  but  it  is 
cruel  because  it  is  wrong. 

As  men  feel  insult  more  than  injury,  so  even  a  complete 
general  despotism,  weighing  down  all  classes  without  excep- 
tion, is,  in  general,  far  more  readily  borne,  that  invidious 
distinctions  drawn  between  a  favoured  and  a  depressed  class 
of  subjects.  It  is  notorious  accordingly,  how  much  Sparta 
was  weakened  and  endangered  by  the  Helots ;  and  yet  the 
Persian  subjects  of  the  great  king  had  probably  no  larger 
share  of  civil  rights,  though  they  felt  less  galled  by  the  re- 
9* 


102  THE    SPIRIT   OF   PERSECUTION. 

striction,  because   surrounded   by  those   who    equally  with 
themselves  were  abject  slaves  of  the  one  powerful  despot. 

To  lunit  the  term  persecutor  to  one  who  persecutes  the 
holders  of  a  true  religion,  is,  not  only  to  render  utterly  vain 
all  dissuasions  from  persecution,  as  every  one  will  be  sure  to 
apply  the  term  to  his  neighbour's  belief  and  not  to  his  own ; 
but  it  is  also  to  attach  no  blame  to  persecution,  but  only  to 
religious  error ;  for  we  cannot  say  that  wc  blame  a  sovereign 
for  killing  or  banishing  one-half  of  his  subjects,  if  our  mean- 
ing be  that  we  blame  him  only  for  not  deciding  rightly  which 
half  it  should  be. 

As  a  narrow  or  a  larger  room  is  equally  a  prison  if  a  man 
is  forced  to  remain  confined  in  it ;  so  the  narrowing  or  tho 
enlarging  the  bounds  of  orthodoxy  does  not  constitute  tho 
absence,  or  the  presence,  of  persecution. 

A  man  cannot  be  said  to  be  at  lihcrty,  or  to  exercise  his 
own  judgment,  if  another — however  rightly — decide  for  him, 
if  he  is  not  left  to  himself  to  take  which  side  of  an  alterna- 
tive he  thinks  fit.  To  say  that  religious  liberty  does  not 
imply  irreligious  liberty,  is  to  say  of  a  person  that  he  is  at 
liberty  to  remain  within  the  walls  of  the  prison,  but  not  at 
liberty  to  leave  it. 

"Wliat !  sliould  we  tolerate  those  who  would  extend  no 
toleration  to  us?  Yes;  unless  wo  are  prepared  to  change, 
"Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,"  into 
"  whatsoever  ye  tJdnk  that  men  would  do  unto  you,  even  so 
do  unto  them." 

The   principle    of  persecution  —  besides  being  wholly  at 


THE    iJPIRIT    OF   TERSECUTION.  103 

variance  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity — acts  also,  as  a  kintl 
of  specific  poison  to  sincere  belief.  Like  a  pestilential  at- 
mosphere, it  makes  gradual  and  imperceptible  advances  in 
debilitating  the  system,  and  tainting  the  inmost  springs  of 
life,  more  or  less  speedily,  according  to  the  constitution  of 
each  individual ;  and  carries  off  its  victims,  one  by  one, 
■without  external  blow,  by  a  secret  internal  decay.  For  in 
proportion  as  men  are  accustomed  to  regard  it  as  right  that 
outward  profession  should  be  enforced,  they  will  come  to 
regard  the  inward  belief,  which  cannot  be  enforced,  as  insig- 
nificant. Conformity  will  be  regarded  as  the  great  object, 
and  truth  as  a  matter  we  need  not  be  concerned  about.  . 

To  defend  Christianity  by  penal  laws,  is  most  seriously  to 
injure  its  cause,  by  weakening  the  force,  and  lessening  the 
value,  of  two  important  branches  of  evidence.  It  is  to  impair, 
not  only  the  confirmation  afibrded  by  concurrence  of  testi- 
mony of  voluntary  professors,  but  the  still  more  important 
evidence,  the  defiance  of  contradiction ;  for  it  is  but  rational 
to  believe  what  is  not  disproved,  while  we  know  that  there 
are  those  abroad  who  are  doing  their  utmost  to  disprove  it, 
and  that  if  there  were  any  flaw  in  the  evidence,  it  would  be 
detected  and  proclaimed. 

To  attach  secular  advantages  and  disabilities  to  the  pro- 
fession or  rejection  of  truth,  is  to  superadd  to  the  difficulties 
already  in  the  way  of  an  unbiassed  judgment,  the  gratuitous, 
and  still  greater,  hindrance  of  the  dread  of  the  imputation  of 
unworthy  and  interested  motives. 

The  kind  of  sovereignty  which  a  political  community  pos- 
sesses, and  in  which  the  exercise  of  coercive  power  is  implied, 
as  its  proper  and  main  object,  is  the  very  circumstance  which 


104  THE   SriRIT   OF   PERSECUTION. 

places  beyond  its  proper  province  tLc  very  highest  and  noblest 
object  of  all.  Pure  morality,  as  existing  in  the  motives,  and 
sincere  belief  in  a  true  religion,  are  precisely  what  cannot 
be  produced,  directly  and  immediately,  by  coercive  power. 
"  The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained ;"  and  thus  is  it  also 
•with  Christian,  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  and  every  moral 
virtue.  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  motives  ;  and  Legislative 
Enactments  do  not  control  motives. 

Hypocrisy  has  been  styled  "  the  homage  which  vice  renders 
to  virtue ;"  but  if  virtue  herself  could  be  consulted,  she  would 
probably  think  the  courteous  custom  ''  better  honoured  in  the 
breach  than  the  observance."  No  man  who  loves  truth  him- 
self, can  value  another's  professing  truth,  which  is  not  truth 
to  him. 

An  insincere  pretender  to  moral  virtue  is  a  better  member 
of  society,  though  not  a  better  man,  than  a  barefaced  profli- 
gate ;  but  religious  hypocrisy  is  an  unmixed  evil,  and  has  no 
countervailing  advantage ;  since  an  insincere  profession  of 
faith  benefits  no  one,  and  only  tends  to  cast  a  suspicion,  when 
detected,  on  the  sincerity  of  others. 

Every  man's  religious  persuasion  must  be  defended  —  and 
can  only  be  defended  —  by  himself.  To  those  who  are  not 
themselves  earnest  and  vigilant,  as  no  Divine  aid  is  promised, 
so  no  human  aid  can  be  availing. 

In  all  questions  Avhcrc  there  is  a  right  or  a  wrong,  several 
difierent  parties  cannot  be  all  right.  When  all  are  forced 
into  agreement  on  outward  submission,  what  they  submit  to 
MAY  conceivably  be  riglit. 


PIOUS   FRAUDS.  105 

But  suppose  it  not  ?  Then  all  are  in  the  wrong ;  and 
truth  and  right  have  no  chance  at  all  to  the  end  of  time. 

It  is  not  given  to  the  generality  of  men  to  perceive  the 
ultimate  inexpediency  of  coercion  in  each  particular  case ; 
and  therefore  Christianity,  often  as  its  name  has  been 
blazoned  on  the  banners  of  the  persecutor — Christianity,  truly 
understood,  and  honestly  applied,  is  the  only  permanently 
effectual  preventive  of  the  spirit  of  persecution. 

As  the  principle  of  persecution  has  its  source,  not  in  this 
or  that  doctrinal  system,  but  in  human  nature,  so  nothing 
can  give  security  against  it  but  the  implantation  of  Christian 
principle,  —  that  only  principle  "svhich  is  able  to  purify,  to 
renovate,  to  convert  that  nature ;  in  short,  to  create  "  the 
new  man." 


XVIII.  Regard  to  Seemixg  Expediency. 

1.  Pious   Frauds.     2.    Reserve   and   double  Doctrine.     3. 
Modern  Theory  of  Development. 

1.  Piouf!  Frauds. 

The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  following  of  truth,  is  the 
tendency  to  look,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  expedient. 

The  votary  of  a  religion  built  on  faith  in  the  truth  ourrht 
to  adhere  scrupulously  to  truth,  in  the  means  he  employs  in 
tlie  furtherance  of  it,  as  well  as  the  end  he  proposes,  and  to 
follow  fearlessly  wherever  truth  may  lead. 


106  PIOUS   FRAUDS. 

lie  may  be  a  sincere  believer  in  the  usefulness  of  what  lie 
advocates,  who  yet  may  not  be  a  believer  in  its  truth. 

*  Honesty  is  the  best  policy ;"  but  he  who  acts  on  that 
principle  is  not  an  honest  man. 

To  make  expediency  the  road  to  truth,  is  the  sin  which 
most  easily  besets  the  instructor  of  others ;  and  the  more 
easily,  because  he  that  does  not  begin  by  teaching  what  he 
thoroughly  believes,  will  speedily  end  by  believing  what  he 
teaches. 

The  fullest  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  cause  in  which 
we  may  be  engaged,  is  no  security  against  our  sliding  into 
falsehood  ;  unless  we  are  sedulous  in  forming  and  cherishing 
a  habit  of  loving,  and  renouncing,  and  strictly  adhering  to, 
truth. 

That  union  of  conscientiousness  in  respect  of  the  end,  and 
unscrupulous  dishonesty  as  to  the  means,  which  constitutes 
what  is  called  "a  pious  fraud,"  is  not  peculiar  to  the  mem- 
bers of  any  church ;  is  not  peculiar  to  an  erroneous  belief  as 
to  what  is  a  good  end ;  is  not  peculiar  to  any  sect,  age,  or 
country  —  to  any  subject-matter,  religious  or  secular,  but  is 
the  spontaneous  growth  of  the  corrupt  soil  of  man's  heart. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  pious  frauds  fall  naturally 
into  two  classes  of  positive  and  negative :  the  one,  the  intro- 
duction and  propagation  of  what  is  false ;  the  other,  the 
mere  toleration  of  it.  A  plant  may  be  in  a  garden  from 
two  causes,  cither  from  being  planted  designedly,  or  being 
found  there  and  left  there.  In  either  case  some  degree  of 
approbation    is    im])lied.     He    who    propagates    a   delusion, 


PIOUS    FRAUDS.  107 

and  he  "who  connives  at  it,  ■when  already  existing,  both  alike 
tamper  with  truth. 

AVe  must  neither  lead,  nor  leave,  men  to  mistake  falsehood 
for  truth. 

The  giving,  or  not  correcting,  false  reasons  for  right  con- 
clusions— false  grounds  for  right  belief — false  principles  for 
right  practice  ;  the  holding  forth,  or  fostering,  false  consola- 
tions, false  encouragements,  and  false  sanctions,  or  conniving 
at  their  being  held  forth  or  believed,  are  all  pious  frauds. 

When  men  cannot,  or  will  not,  admit  sound  arguments  for 
a  true  conclusion,  to  give  them  unsound  ones,  is  like  the 
countervailing  fraud  of  meeting  an  unjust  demand  of  a  debt, 
never  incurred,  by  forging  a  receipt. 

Some  men,  provided  others  come  to  a  right  conclusion, 
care  not  how  they  come  at  it. 

Nothing  is  more  common  among  the  indolent  and  thought- 
less, than  to  resort  to  falsehood  as  a  compendious  way  of 
managing  and  controlling  children,  of  evading  disagreeable 
questions,  and  satisfying  their  doubting  minds  ;  thus  serving 
a  present  turn  at  the  expense,  not  only  of  veracity,  but  of 
tenfold  ultimate  inconvenience  to  those  who  employ  the  arti- 
fice, and  of  moral  injury  to  the  deceived.  As  reasonably 
might  one  expect  habits  of  neatness  from  one  who  has  been 
reared  in  a  pig-sty  with  swine,  as  a  frank,  open,  unsuspicious 
love  of  truth  from  him,  who  has  been  made  first  the  dupe, 
and,  afterwards,  the  imitator  of  falsehood. 

The  pious  fraud  which  leads,  or  leaves  men  to  look  for 
temporal  rewards  and  punishments  as  the  sanctions  of  a  re- 


108  PIOUS   FRAUDS. 

lif]rion  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  which  Tras  crucified,  and 
His  disciples  persecuted,  must  have  as  its  natural  consequence 
the  producing  a  general  distrust  of  Providence,  when  it  is 
found  that  pestilences,  shipwrecks,  conflagrations,  &c.,  make 
no  distinction  between  the  pious  and  the  impious. 

To  say  anything,  however  true  of  itself,  of  which  we  have 
not  a  hearty  conviction  at  the  moment,  breeds  a  habit  of 
insincerity. 

lie  who  accustoms  himself  to  dispense  with  complete  sin- 
cerity, for  the  sake  of  supposed  utility,  and  to  support  true 
conclusions  by  any  premises  that  offer,  will  soon  lose  the 
power  of  distinguishing  what  conclusions  are  true. 

Those  who  accommodate  Christianity  to  corrupt  human 
nature,  instead  of  gaining  those  whom  they  strive  to  conciliate, 
are  in  danger  of  losing  their  own  faith.  They  are  like  the 
man  who  boasted  of  having  "caught  a  Tartar,"  when  the  fact 
was  that  the  Tartar  had  cauglit  Jam. 

To  advance  false  premises,  no  matter  how  true  the  conclu- 
sion may  be  to  which  they  lead,  or  knowingly  adduce  unsound 
arguments,  however  important  may  be  the  conviction  to  be 
produced  by  them,  is  an  affront  put  on  the  Spirit  of  truth ; 
a  hiring  of  the  Syrians  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel. 

No  mixture  of  evil  is  ever  necessary  for  any  really  good 
purpose ;  and  those  who  act  as  if  it  were,  are  really  doing 
evil  that  good  may  come. 

That  is  a  dangerous  cant,  now-a-days  heard  so  often  — 
"  There  is  some  truth  in  so  and  so ;  and  therefore  it  is  the 


RFSERVE    AND    DOUBLE    DOCTRINE.  109 

mission  of  him  "wlio  liolds  it,  though  mixed  ■with  much  error, 
to  propagate  the  belief  of  his  doctrines."  Some  truth  !  yes  ; 
the  serpent  had  some  truth  in  what  he  said ;  the  forbidden 
tree  tvas  a  tree  of  knowledge.  And  there  was  some  truth  in 
Eve's  reflections.  It  was  "pleasant  to  the  eye"  and  desira- 
ble "to  make  one  wise."  Here  Avas  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
and  of  knowledge  in  the  very  first  sin  which  was  committed. 

The  much  that  is  good  and  true  in  any  system,  only  enables 
the  much  that  is  evil  and  false  to  gain  the  greater  currency. 

Many  have  begun  in  wilful  deceit  to  end  in  superstitious 
belief.  They  first  themselves  shape  "  the  image  of  the  beast," 
and  then  apply  to  the  false  prophet  to  make  it  "  speak  and 
live."  The  very  curse  sent  on  those  who  do  not  love  the 
truth  is  that  of  "  strong  delusion  that  they  should  believe  a 
lie." 


XVIII.  Regard  to  Seeming  Expediency. 

2.  Reserve  and  double  Doctrine. 

As  the  true  sense  of  each  word  is  that  which  is  understood 
by  it,  (otherwise  language  Avould  completely  fail  of  the  very 
object  for  which  language  exists,  —  viz.,  to  convey  an  intelli- 
gible meaning,)  it  cannot  make  any  diff"erence  in  point  of 
veracity,  whether  a  man  says  that  which  is  untrue  in  every 
sense,  or  that  which,  though  in  a  certain  sense  true,  yet  is 
false  in  the  sense  in  which  he  knows  it  will  be  understood. 

IIow  incalculable  is  the  injury  to  the  cause  of  truth,  from 
that  system  of  reserve  and  double  doctrine,  which  adopts  and 
10 


110  RESERVE   AND    DOl'BLE   DOCTRINE. 

avows  tlie  principle  that  a  man  "  may  say  one  thing  while  he 
aims  at  accomplishing  a  difiercnt  thing ;"  that  he  "  may  make 
belief  it  is  "  bread"  he  is  showing,  when,  as  the  saying  is,  it 
is  really  a  "  stone  ;"  that  "  he  may  say  what  looks  like  truth, 
rather  than  what  is  true ;"  that  "  he  may  take  all  words  in 
difiercnt  senses,  and  take  any  sense  for  the  purpose  of  vic- 
tory." The  exhibition  of  such  Jesuitical  morality,  which 
makes  pious  fraud  consistent  with  Christian  virtue,  is  likely 
to  endanger  the  faith  both  of  those  who  are,  and  of  those  who 
are  not,  themselves  of  an  open  and  honest  disposition.  Those 
who  have  a  disdain  of  every  kind  of  disingenuOusness  and 
double  dealing,  will  turn  in  indignant  disgust  from  the  Gos- 
pel, against  which  their  moral  sentiments  will  have  thus  been 
excited ;  and  this  in  proportion  as  these  sentiments  are  just, 
and  elevated,  and  pure.  And  though  their  procedure  is 
indeed  justly  censurable,  in  not  examining  for  themselves 
what  the  religion  is  before  they  reject  it ;  yet  this  does  not 
lessen  the  responsibility  of  those  who  place  such  a  stumbling- 
block  in  another's  path.  "  "Woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the 
offence  cometh."  And  those  again  of  a  lower  tone  of  morality, 
who  confine  the  term  "vice"  to  intemperate  sensuality  and 
the  like  (which  though  the  Tempter  is  ready  to  seduce  men 
into,  are  yet  not  so  truly  parts  of  his  own  character,  not  so 
completely  satanic  as  falsehood  and  fraud)  will  be  encouraged 
to  make  profession  of  what  they  do  not  believe,  and  of  what 
they  suspect  their  teachers  to  believe  as  little. 

The  dishonesty  of  a  double  meaning,  a  design  hidden, 
"while  apparently  disavowed,  in  order  to  serve  a  present  pur- 
pose, is  akin  to  the  stratagem  of  the  ancient  architect  em- 
ployed by  one  of  the  Ptolemies  to  build  a  magnificent  light- 
house ;  and  who,  being  ordered  to  put  tliercon  an  inscription 
in  honour  of  tlie  king,  and  coveting  such  a  record  for  him- 


RESERVE  AND  DOUBLE  DOCTRINE.         Ill 

self,  made  tlie  inscription  on  a  plaister  resembling  stone,  but 
of  perishable  substance;  so  that  the  next  generation" saw 
another  inscription  recording  the  name,  not  of  the  king,  but 
of  the  architect  Avhich  had  been  secretly  engraved  on  the 
durable  stone  below. 

To  perceive  and  censure  the  disingenuousness  of  the  system 
of  Reserve,  and  yet  continue  to  speak  of  its  advocates  with 
admiration  and  gratitude,  for  their  alleged  services  to  the 
Church  in  respect  of  certain  rites  and  forms,  is  to  become  a 
wilful  abettor  of  known  falsehood ;  and  to  make  the  "tithes 
of  mint,  and  rue,  and  cummin,"  a  kind  of  set-off  against  the 
neglect  of  "  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law" — against  moral 
as  well  as  doctrinal  taint. 

The  advocates  of  Reserve  among  us,  who  speak  of  an  ordi- 
nary reader  being  likely  to  "  miss  their  real  meaning  by  not 
being   aware    of  the   peculiar  sense  in  which  they  employ 
terms,"  are  not  without  their    counterparts.     The  German 
Transcendentalists,  whoso  system  of  Theology,  or  rather  of 
Atheology,  is  little  else  than  a  new  edition  of  the  Pantheism 
of  the  ancient  Heathen  Philosophers,  of  the  Brahmins,  and 
the    Buddhists,    use    a    similar    double-meaning    language. 
They  profess  to  believe  that  Christianity  came  from  God,  in  ■ 
the  same  sense  in  which  everytliing  corner  h'oxn  Godi',  they 
teach  the  incarnation,  explaining  to  the  initiated  that  this 
means  the  presence  of  the  Deity,  i.  e.,  of  the  "  spiritual 
principle"  which  pervades  the  universe,  —  the  God  of  Pan- 
theism in  man  generally,  as  well  as  in  all  other  animals ;  and 
they  profess  a  belief  in  man's  immortality — that  is,  that  the 
human  species  will  never  become  extinct,  &c.     Let  any  one 
compare  together  these  two  systems,  (if  indeed  they  are  to 
be  reckoned  as  two,)  and  say,  whether  there  is  any  greater 


112         RESERVE  AND  DOUBLE  DOCTRINE. 

violence  done  to  the  orLlinarjj  sense  of  words  It/  the  one  than 
hy  the  other;  and  Avhat  limit  is  there  to  sucli  insincerity? 
Even  supposing,  therefore,  that  all  the  disciples  of  the  school 
in  question  do  inwardly  believe  in  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
they  cannot  give  any  sufficient  assurance  that  they  do  so. 
A  suppression  of  Gospel  truth  is  virtually  a  falsification 
of  it. 

There  is  a  gradual  instruction  by  which  a  judicious  teacher 
imparts  knowledge  with  due  regard  to  the  age,  understanding, 
previous  acquirements,  opportunities,  and  other  circumstances 
of  the  learners,  in  proportion  as  they  are  able  to  bear  it ; 
knowing  that,  practically  speaking,  all  truth  is  relative,  and 
that  a  statement  of  any  doctrine  true  to  one  man,  may,  in 
effect,  be  false  to  another  if  it  be  such  as  cannot  but  lead  him 
to  form  false  notions.  This  gradual  instruction  is  not  to  be 
confounded  with  the  system  of  withholding  any  portion  of 
God's  truth  from  those  able  and  willing  to  receive  it  —  the 
system  of  shunning  to  "declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God;" 
the  "double  doctrine,"  the  suppression  or  "Reserve"  of  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity,  as  a  secrc-t  to  be  imparted 
only  to  a  select  few,  and  to  be  kept  back  from  the  great  mass 
of  the  people. 

He  who  does  not  teach  all  men  as  well  as  he  can,  acts  as 
if  he  were  the  steward  not  "of  the  mysteries  of  God"  but 
of  his  oivn. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  wherever  Paul  characterizes 
the  Christian  religion,  or  any  part  of  it  by  the  word 
"  Mystery,"  he  is  directing  attention  not  to  the  concealment 
but  the  disclosure  of  the  mystery,  and  conveying  the  idea 
that  it  is  something  which  "now  is  made  manifest,"  and 


RESERVE  AND  DOUBLE  DOCTRINE.         113 

wliicli  wc  are  therefore  called  upon  to  contemplate  and  study, 
even  at  his  office  was  "  to  make  known  the  mystery  of  the 
Gospel."  Not  that  he  meant  to  imply  that  we  are  able  fully 
to  understand  the  Divine  dispensations ;  but  it  is  not  in  re- 
ference to  this,  their  inscrutable  character,  that  he  calls  them 
mysteries,  not  so  far  forth  as  they  are  hidden  and  unintel- 
ligible ;  but  so  far  as  they  arc  revealed  and  explained. 

God  has  not  authorized-wzaw-to  suppress- any-part  "of  what 
He  has  revealed ;  and  it  is  impious  presumption  even  to  en- 
quii'c  into  the  expediency  of  such  a  procedure. 

The  advocates  of  Reserve  in  teaching  appeal  to  our  Lord's 
example,  who,  they  say,  taught  openly  in  parables,  and  ex- 
pounded those  parables  only  to  His  own  disciples.  But  this 
can  be  no  justification  of  it,  when  it  is  remembered  that  our 
Lord  concealed  the  meaning  of  His  parables  only  from  those 
who,  with  the  evidence  of  His  miracles  before  them,  refused 
to  acknowledge  Him  as  a  "teacher  sent  from  God ;"  while  it 
is  from  Christian  men — from  those  who  have  enrolled  them- 
selves already  as  His  disciples — that  the  full  explanation  of 
some  of  the  essential  doctrines  of  His  religion  is  withheld  by 
this  system.  But  even  such  concealment  as  He  practised 
was  not  to  continue  longer  than  the  period  of  His  OAvn  per- 
sonal ministry,  for  He  expressly  commands,  "  What  I  tell 
you  in  darkness,  that  speak  ye  in  light :  and  what  ye  hear  in 
the  ear,  that  preach  ye  upon  the  house-tops." 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  though  the  Divine  Author 
and  Finisher  of  our  faith  said,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now ;"  yet  He  did,  by 
His  Spirit,  gradually  impart  this  knowledge,  not  to  some 
subsequent  generation,  but  to  those  very  individuals.  And 
10* 


114  llESEUVE   AND   DOUBLE    DOCTRINE. 

in  that  wliieli  Paul  says,  "  I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not 
•with  meat :  for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it :  neither 
yet  now  are  ye  able  ;"  he  evidently  implies  a  hope  that  they 
— those  very  individuals — ic'dl  be  able  to  bear  it.  The  very 
similitude  of  hahcs,  indeed,  of  itself  draws  our  attention,  our 
hopes,  and  oiu'  endeavours  towards  a  progressive  growth  into 
manhood. 

The  Great  Teacher  knew  indeed  what  portion  of  Ilis  truth 
is  exactly  suited  for  each  generation  of  mankind ;  and  when, 
and  how  far,  imperfect  knowledge  may  be  given,  without 
necessarily  leading  those  who  receive  it  into  error.  But  with 
us  it  is  otherwise.  We  are  in  the  condition  of  ignorant  men 
to  whom  some  sage  physician  has  imparted,  for  the  benefit 
of  others,  a  medicine  curiously  compounded  according  to 
rules  of  art  Avith  which  we  are  unacquainted.  Is  it  not  mad- 
ness, then,  to  say,  that  because  the  physician  himself  has 
formerly  in  his  own  practice,  when  dealing  with  other  pa- 
tients, sometimes  omitted  some  of  the  ingredients  of  that 
medicine,  therefore,  we  are  justified  in  leaving  out  some  part 
of  the  compound  when  we  please,  and  yet  still  calling  it  his 
remedy  ?  The  medicine,  surely,  may  be  as  much  changed 
by  omitting  some  ingredients  as  by  adding  others. 

To  postpone,  sine  die,  the  communication  of  religious 
knowledge,  on  the  pica  that  men,  through  ignorance,  weak- 
ness, or  prejudice,  are  not  yet  ripe  for  it,  is  to  expect  them  to 
become  ripe,  like  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  by  mere  waitiny. 

The  teacher  who,  while  holding  himself  bound  not  to  add 
on  to  Scripture  anything  he  does  not  believe  to  be  true,  hesi- 
tates not  to  suppress  any  portion  of  Gospel  truth  at  his 
pleasure,  misplaces  his  scruple  as  absurdly  as  tiie  man  who 


RESERVE  AND  DOUBLE  DOCTRINE.         115 

■would  not  Avorsliip  a  moulded  image,  though  he  would  a 
sculptured  one,  as  not  contemplated  in  the  commandment 
against  making  an  image,  because  it  is  not  "made;"  the 
artist  having  added  nothing,  but  merely  taken  away. 

For  all  the  consequences  of  what  God  has  been  pleased  to 
do,  man  is  not  responsible  ;  but  man  is  responsible  for  all  the 
consequences  of  what  he  presumes  to  do  in  altering  His 
arrangements. 

He  who  holds  the  double  doctrine,  the  esoteric  and  exoteric, 
professing  the  principle  that  it  is  allowable  and  right  to  have 
one  Gospel  for  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  another  for  the 
initiated  few,  and  is  believed  in  that  profession,  need  not 
wonder  to  find  that  he  is  thenceforward  believed  in  notlunrj 
else.  Let  it  be  once  understood  that  a  man  wears  a  mask, 
all  persons  will  form  their  own  conjectures  as  to  what  is 
under  it. 

Those  who  imagine  that  the  scholastic  divinity,  in  which 
are  things  quite  beyond  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  which  it 
would  be  utterly  idle  even  to  attempt  to  teach  them,  is  an  es- 
sential part  of  the  Gospel,  will  not  easily  avoid  being  forced  to 
allow  the  necessity  of  a  double  doctrine.  Bnt  this  is  rather 
another  reason  for  condemning  all  presumptuous  speculations 
and  metaphysical  theories  of  Christianity — all  of  them  equally ; 
for  there  is  nothing  more  characteristic  of  the  Gospel  dis- 
pensation than  its  oneness  —  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  hope, 
—  in  short,  one  and  the  same  Gospel,  proposed  to  the  poor, 
and  to  the  learned,  to  all  who  Avill  heartily  receive  it  —  "I 
thank  Thee,  0  Father,"  said  our  Lord,  "that  Thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed 
them  unto  babes.''    And  again,  He  says  to  the  humble  fisher- 


116  RESERVE    AND    DOUBLE    DOCTRINE. 

men  who  followed  Ilim,  "  Many  prophets  and  kings  have 
desired  to  hear  those  things  which  ye  hear,  and  have  not 
heard  them.  '  And  what  they  did  hear  and  learn  from  Ilim 
in  private,  those  things  lie  charged  them  to  publish  from 
"  the  house-tops." 

It  is  a  point  of  the  highest  importance,  towards  our  belief 
in  the  Christian  religion,  that  we  should  regard  it  as  suited 
to  all  mankind,  because  otherwise  it  cannot  be  a  true  revela- 
tion. The  systems  of  Aristotle  or  Plato,  of  Newton  or 
Locke,  may,  conceivably,  be  very  true,  although  the  mass  of 
mankind  cannot  comprehend  them,  because  they  Avere  never 
intended  for  the  mass  of  mankind :  but  Jesus  Himself  did 
certainly  intend  His  religion  for  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor ; 
for  His  command  was  to  "go  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature,"  and  He  applied  to  His  mission  the  prophecy,  "To 
the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached ;"  and  therefore,  if  it  be  not 
one  Avhich  the  lower  ranks  of  society  are  capable  of  embracing, 
He,  the  founder  of  it,  must  have  been  mistaken  in  his  calcu- 
lation—  must  have  been  ignorant,  cither  of  the  character  of 
His  own  religion,  or  of  the  nature  of  man  ;  which  would  of 
course  imply  that  he  could  not  have  been  Divinely  inspired. 

That  system  of  "Reserve,"  which  teaches  that  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Atonement,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  other  fun- 
damental parts  of  the  Gospel,  should  be  kept  back  from  the 
mass  of  the  people,  has  no  sanction  whatever  from  the  Scrip- 
tures. For  whatever  Paul  does  mean  by  "the  wisdom"  which 
he  spoke  among  the  perfect,"  or  "the  strong  meat"  wliich 
he  did  not  give  to  babes,  he  certainly  does  not  mean  these 
essential  doctrines  ;  since  he  fully  propounds  these  doctrines 
in  the  very  epistles  from  which  these  passages  are  cited.  In 
the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  for  example,  he  expressly 


RESERVE  AND  DOUBLE  DOCTRINE.         117 

tells  US  that,  among  those 'who  were  "yet  cavnal,"  andwhom 
ho  had  fed  with  milk,  ho  had  "determined  not  to  know  any- 
thing save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Ilim  crucified,''  and  that  he  had 
"  delivered  unto  them  first  of  all  tliat  Christ  died  for  our 
sins  ;  and,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  he  insists  largely 
upon  the  divinity  of  Christ  to  those  whom  he,  at  the  same 
time,  declares  to  be  such  as  "have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of 
strong  meat.  Indeed,  so  plainly  are  these  doctrines  set  forth 
in  the  Scriptures,  that  it  is  only  by  abstaining  from  the  reading 
of  them  that  it  is  possible  to  keep  them  out  of  sight.  And 
therefore  the  system  of  "Reserve"  has  a  great  tendency  to 
discourage  the  study  of  the  Bible.  Men  may  succeed  in  per- 
suading others  to  keep  back  something  of  the  counsel  of 
God;  but  as  long  as  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  are  per- 
mitted to  bear  their  testimony,  we  shall  still  find  them 
preaching  without  reserve  Christ  crucified,  and  such  preach- 
ing will  still  be  "  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ,  in  them  that  arc 
saved,  and  in  them  that  perish;"  and  we  shall  have  to  meet 
them  "witnessing  to  small  and  great,"  and  plainly  setting 
the  whole  truth  before  all  men,  "  whether  they  will  hear,  or 
Avhether  they  will  forbear."  May  every  Christian  teacher, 
who  loves  the  truth,  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  preaching  of  the  truth  will  not  produce  its  appropriate 
effects,  unless  the  toholc  truth  is  preached,  as  well  as  nothing 
but  the  truth. 


118        MODERN  THEORY  OF  DEVELOPMENT. 

XVIII,  Regard  to  Seeminq  Expediency. 
^.  Modern   Theory  of  Development. 

In  its  etymological  sense,  truth  signifies  that  wliicli  the 
speaker  "trows"  or  believes  to  be  the  fact ;  and  therefore  it 
has  been  contended  that  it  is  idle  to  speak  of  eternal  or  im- 
mutable truth.  Upon  this  ground,  it  would  be  just  as  absurd 
to  speak  of  sending  a  letter  by  the  "  post,"  because  a  post 
in  its  primary  sense  is  a  pillar ;  or  to  admit  that  "  syco- 
phant" can  ever  mean  anything  but  "fig-shower." 

The  character  of  the  Gospel  is  "  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  for  ever." 

Temporary  or  local  circumstances  are  the  cause,  not  of 
any  article  being,  or  not  being,  a  part  of  the  Clu'istian 
faith ;  but  of  its  being  a  part  which  it  is  needful,  or  not 
needful,  to  set  forth  prominently. 

A  modern  use  of  the  word  "  inspiration"  is  very  large,  in- 
deed, in  its  application  ;  so  large  that  a  person  who  did  not 
scruple  using  it  in  the  sense  thus  given  to  it,  might  turn 
liohinson  Crusoe,  or  the  Arabian  Niglits,  into  allegories 
about  religion,  and  then  speak  of  them  as  "  divinely  in- 
spired ;"  meaning  that  they  might  he  made  to  afford  religious 
instruction,  and  were  providcntiallij  so  written  as  to  be 
capable  of  that  particular  application,  though  it  was  never 
intended  by  the  writers.  Now  people  will  be  apt  to  suspect 
that  those  who  speak  of  "the  whole  Bible"  as  "one  great 
parable,"  to  be  expounded  mystically  and  allcgorically,  even 
in  the  plainest  narratives  and  arguments,  and  as  having  as 


MODERN  THEORY  OP  DEVELOPMENT.         119 

many  meanings  as  a  "pious"  fancy  can  find  foi-  its  words; 
— do  in  reality  entertain,  at  bottom,  much  the  same  opinion 
of  Scripture  as  of  liobiusou  Crusoe,  or  the  Arabian  Nights. 
For  any  book  at  all  may  be  made  to  yield  a  profitable  mean- 
ing, if  we  ourselves  first  put  that  meaning  into  it,  and  choose 
to  consider  it  as  "  a  great  parable"  of  something  that  we 
have  not  learned  from  it,  but  have  known  already  by  some 
other  means. 

There  are  many  now  who,  while  professing  belief  in  the 
Divinity  of  Christianity,  yet  mix  up  with  it  other  ideas 
which  virtually  nullify  that  belief.  "  Christ,"  they  will  say, 
"  was  an  inspired  prophet,  and  so  was  Mahomet,  and  Dante, 
and  Luther,  and  Milton,  and  a  multitude  of  others.  They 
had  all  the  Divine  spark  within  them — all  had  great  missions 
to  accomplish,"  &c.  And  thus  the  ideas  of  genius  and  of 
Divine  inspiration  are  confused  together ;  and  by  raising 
others  to  the  level  of  the  Founder  of  our  faith,  they  virtually 
degrade  Ilim.  They  thus  imitate  the  trick  of  Morgiana  in 
the  Forty  Thieves,  Avho,  when  she  perceived  one  door  marked 
with  red  chalk,  immediately  marked  all  those  on  each  side, 
so  that  the  mark  ceased  to  be  a  distinction. 

Erratum  in  some  Modern  Theories  :  —  for  development  of 
gospel-scheme,  read  depravation  —  human  additions -to  a 
divine  revelation. 

To  Christianity,  as  a  revelation  complete  in  our  Sacred 
Books,  both  the  Neologist  and  the  Tractite,  more  or  less 
openly,  confess  their  objection. 

The  Christian  religion  is  an  historical  religion,  not  merely 
connected  with,  hwt  fo  muled  on,  certain  recoi'ded  events  — 


120        MODERN  THEORY  OF  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  birtli,  life,  death,  and  resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  the 
pouring  out  of  llis  spirit,  &c.  Strictly  speaking,  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  annunciation  of  what  God  has  done  for  man.  The 
Lord  Jesus  accomplished  what  He  left  His  apostles  to  tes- 
tify of,  and  to  explain ;  He  offered  up  Himself  on  the  cross 
that  they  might  teach  the  atoning  virtue  of  His  sacrifice ;  He 
rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven,  that  they 
might  declare  the  great  mystery  of  His  divine  and  human 
nature,  and  preach  that  faith  in  Him  by  ^vhich  His  followers 
hope  to  be  raised  and  to  reign  with  Him. 

The  Mosaic  Dispensation  was  the  dawn  of  "  the  day-spring 
from  on  high,"  not  yet  arrived — of  a  sun  only  about  to  rise  : 
it  was  a  revelation  in  itself  imperfect.  The  sun  of  the  Gos- 
pel arose,  —  "  the  True  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
Cometh  into  the  world,"  appeared;  but  it  was  partially 
hidden,  and  is  so  still,  by  a  veil  of  clouds, — by  prejudices  of 
various  kinds,  —  by  the  passions,  and  infirmities,  and  igno- 
rance of  mankind.  We  may  advance,  and  we  may  lead 
others  to  advance,  indefinitely,  in  full  development  of  Gospel 
truth,  —  of  the  real  character  and  meaning  and  design  of 
Christ's  religion ;  not  by  seeking  to  superadd  something  to 
the  Gospel-revelation,  but  by  a  more  correct  and  fuller  com- 
prehension of  it ;  not  by  increasing  absolutely  the  light  of 
the  noon-day  sun,  but  by  clearing  away  the  mists  which 
obscure  our  view.  Christianity  itself  cannot  be  improved ; 
but  men's  views  and  estimate,  and  comprehension  of  Chris- 
tianity, may  be  indefinitely  improved. 

Increased  understanding  of  the  written  Word,  a  more  and 
more  full  development  of  what  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles 
have  conveyed  to  us,  are  to  be  attained  without  adding  to  the 
Gospel.     But  we  cannot  be  too  much  on  our  guard  against 


MODERN  THEORY  OF  DEVELOPMENT.        121 

the  delusions  of  those  Avho  go  so  far  as  to  represent  tho 
Revelation  of  the  Christian  scheme,  contained  in  the  New 
Testament,  as  a  mere  imperfect  and  uncompleted  outline ; 
and  Avho,  while  exulting  in  their  imagined  progress  in  Chris- 
tian knowledge  through  a  fancied  development,  are,  in 
reality,  straying  into  other  paths,  and  following  a  bewildering 
meteor. 

To  take  (as  proposed  by  Coleridge)  a  man's  feeling  of  the 
suitableness  of  Christianity  to  his  wants,  not  as  a  confirma- 
tion of  other  evidences  of  the  religion,  but  as  a  complete 
substitute  for  them,  is  to  forget  that,  doubtless,  many  of  the 
Mahometans  perceived  this  suitableness  in  their  own  religion, 
and  many  of  the  Hindoos  in  theirs.  The  grossest  supersti- 
tions have  often  proved  satisfying  and  soothing  to  the  igno- 
rant devotee.  No  corrupt  religion  could  ever  have  arisen  at 
all,  or  have  been  received,  if  those  who  introduced  it,  and 
their  followers,  had  not  found  a  "  want"  of  some  such  system. 

Those  modern  theorists  who  rest  all  on  subjective  feelings 
and  inward  emotions,  to  the  exclusion  of  objective  evidence — 
who  make  the  truth  of  Christianity  dependent  upon  the  sub- 
jective suitability,  and  not  on  the  objective  credibility,  of  the 
Revelation,  should  be  reminded  that  this  is  not  only  a  setting 
up  of  each  man  for  himself  to  be  the  standard  of  divine  truth, 
but  that,  as  respects  the  taste  and  the  wants  upon  the  suita- 
bility to  which  the  evidence  of  the  Gospel  is  made  to  depend, 
the  wants  are  such  as  are  made  known  to  us  by  the  Gospel 
only ;  and  the  taste  such  as  the  Gospel  does  not  usually 
find,  but  implant  in  the  human  mind. 

The  subjective  evidences  of  Christianity  are  indeed  a  con- 
firmation, but  a    confirmation   rather  the  reward    of   faith, 
11 


122        MODERN  THEORY  OF  DEVELOPMENT. 

accompanied  by  obeilicncc,  than  the  foundation  on  uliich  to 
build  it.  "  If  any  man  ivill  do  his  -will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God." 

That  kind  of  evidence  which  all  Christians  ought  to  have, 
that  the  Gospel  does  meet  the  nature  and  the  real  wimts  of 
man,  is  obtained  not  by  rejecting  evidence,  and  resolving  to 
conform  their  religious  belief  to  their  own  tastes  and  inclina- 
tions ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  striving  to  conform  their  own 
tastes  and  inclinations  to  their  religious  belief. 

Suppose  some  one  should  offer  to  several  persons,  suffering 
under  a  painful  and  dangerous  disease,  some  medicine  which 
he  declared  would  relieve  their  sufferings,  and  restore  them 
to  health ;  it  would  be  natm-al  and  reasonable  for  them  to 
ask  for  some  testimony  or  other  proof,  to  assure  them  of  this, 
before  they  made  trial  of  the  medicine  :  then,  suppose  them 
to  be  .~;o  far  convinced,  —  some  by  one  proof,  and  some  by 
another, — as  to  make  trial  of  the  medicine;  and  that  they 
found  themselves  daily  getting  better  as  they  took  it :  they 
would  then  have — all  of  them — an  evidence  from  experience, 
confirming  the  former  proofs  that  had  originally  brought 
them  to  make  the  trial.  Just  so,  different  persons  may  have 
been  led  by  different  kinds  of  proof  to  embrace  the  Gospel ; 
but  when  they  have  embraced  it,  they  may  all  hope  for  this 
confirmation  of  their  faith,  by  the  further  proof  from  expe- 
rience. 

But  —  to  use  the  same  comparison  —  as  those  persons  who 
had  taken  the  medicine,  if  they  Avere  wise,  would  be  con- 
vinced of  its  virtues,  not  from  its  being  immediately  pleasant 
to  the  taste,  or  from  its  suddenly  exciting  and  cheering  them 
up,  like  a  strong  cordial ;  but  from  its  gradually  restoring 
their  strength,  and  removing  the  symptoms  of  the  disease, 


MODERN   TIII:;01iy   OP   DEVELOPMENT.  123 

and  advancing  them  daily  towards  perfect  health ;  so  also 
Christian  experience  does  not  consist  in  violent  transports, 
or  any  kind  of  sudden  or  overpowering  impressions  on  the 
feelings,  though  such  may  be  experienced ;  but  in  a  steady, 
habitual,  and  continual  improvement  of  the  heart  and  the 
conduct.  And  this  is  the  Christian  experience  alluded  to  in 
the  New  Testament  Scriptures ;  which  thus  afford  an  addi- 
tional internal  evidence  of  these  having  been  written  by 
sober-minded  men.  For  the  test  they  refer  to  is  "  a  growth 
in  grace  and  knowledge," — a  "bringing  forth  fruit  with 
patience."  For  "patience,"  says  St.  Paul,  "worketh 
experience ;  and  experience,  hope :  and  hope  maketh  not 
ashamed ;  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  Avhich  is  given  unto  us." 

To^ay  that  Conscience,  and  not  Reason,  is  the  judge  of 
truth  in  religious  matters,  is  to  forget  that  since  men  really 
eannot  believe  or  disbelieve  without  something  that  comes 
before  the  mind  as  froof^  the  first  dictate  of  a  sound  con- 
science would  be  to  examine  that  evidence  carefully,  lest  we 
should  be  deceived;  so  that  following  Conscience  in  this 
sense  would  come  to  the  same  thing  as  following  Reason. 
But  what  some  modern  teachers  mean  by  Conscience  is  cer- 
tain "  feelings  of  awe,  and  reverence,  and  admiration," 
which  they  are  pleased  to  call  by  that  name ;  and  the  course 
which  they  mean  to  recommend  is  taking  for  evidence  of  the 
tvutli  of  a  religious  system  its  apparent  fitness  for  gratifying 
Buch  feelings,  flinging  yourself  into  it  with  unhesitating 
trust ;  and,  if  found  to  fail  in  satisfying  your  religious  senti- 
ments, then,  and  not  till  then,  another  is  to  be  tried.  But 
what  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  You  are  to  pass  on,  it 
seems,  from  one  to  another  and  a  higher  sj^stem  ;  but  still  the 
moral  and  religious  feelings  may  be,  and  probably  are,  but 


124         THE  TRUE  ALONE  TUE  EXPEDIENT. 

imperfectly  developed.  The  infiint  JiuIl^c  of  truth  may  have 
cast  ofi'  its  swaddling-bands,  and  yet  be  only  in  short  coats. 
In  a  third  stage,  it  may  gain  more  manly  attire ;  and  yet, 
even  after  that,  a  thousand  more  seemly  forms  of  clothing 
may  await  its  growing  limbs.  Who  knows  but  in  the  end  it 
may  outgroAV  them  all  ?  Naked  it  came  forth  from  its 
mother's  Avomb,  and  naked  it  may  return.  May  not,  if  these 
notions  be  correct,  Pantheism  or  Atheism  be  the  final  issue 
(as  we  know  it  actually  has  been  in  many  instances)  of  such 
a  development  of  man's  moral  and  religious  feelings  ? 

"We  cannot  hope  for  the  Apostle's  consolatory  trust  of 
being  "free  from  the  blood  of  all  men,"  unless,  like  him,  we 
declare  "the  whole  counsel  of  God,"  and  nothing  as  a  part 
of  the  Christian  faith,  but  the  counsel  of  God. 


The  True  alone  tue  Expedient. 

So  long  as  we  acknowledge  truth  to  be  in  itself  stronger 
than  falsehood,  it  can  never  be  true  expediency  to  resort  to 
any  means  that,  by  tending  to  put  them  on  a  level,  must  bo 
on  the  whole  less  favourable  to  the  cause  of  truth  than  of 
error. 

The  crroneousness  of  the  views  which  fraud  or  force 
is  used  to  oppose,  or  the  soundness  of  those  that  either  is 
used  to  support,  does  not  lessen  the  danger  or  the  evil  of  cm- 
])loying  it.  "Will  ye,"  f^ays  Job,  "speak  wickedly  fur 
God?  and  talk  deceitfully  for  Jlim  V 


THE  TRUE  ALONE  THE  EXPEDIENT.        125 

Nothing  but  the  right  Ccan  ever  be  the  expedient,  since 
that  can  never  be  true  expediency  "which  v/oukl  sacrifice  a 
greater  good  to  a  less,  —  "  For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if 
he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?'"' 

The  good  effects  resulting,  at  least,  apjmrentli/  resulting, 
from  every  false  system,  have  a  continual  and  rapid  tendency 
towards  decay ;  while  the  evil  fruits  are  borne  in  continually 
increasing  profusion,  and  with  more  and  more  of  poisonous 
luxuriance. 

All  frauds,  like  the  "  wall  daubed  with  untempercd 
mortar,"  with  which  men  think  to  buttress  up  an  edifice, 
always  tend  to  the  decay  of  the  system  they  are  devised  to 
support. 

It  is  only  to  the  pure  in  heart  who  love  truth  for  its  own 
sake,  that  it  is  given  to  see  its  expediency. 

The  maxim  that  "  Honesty  is  the  best  policy"  can  never 
be  to  any  one  the  habitual  and  constant  guide  of  conduct. 
He  who  is  honest  is  always  before  it ;  and  he  who  is  not,  will 
often  be  far  behind  it. 

The  expediency  of  truth  can  be  estimated  by  few,  but  its 
intrinsic  loveliness  by  all  who,  in  undoubting  faith  and  firm 
reliance  on  their  great  Master,  reject  disguise,  and  sophistry, 
and  equivocation,  at  once,  as  hateful  to  Him ;  and  who,  as 
becomes  Christian  faith,  walk  boldly  forward  in  the  path  of 
duty,  though  the  point  to  which  it  leads  may  not  be  percep- 
tible at  every  turn ;  looking  for  all  needful  aid  to  that  sanc- 
tifying, and  enlightening,  and  supporting  grace,  which  alone 

can  rai.sc  to  life  "the  dead  in  sin,"  and  purify  man's  corrupt 
11  . 


126  IllE   TRUE    ALONE    THE    EXPEDIENT. 

nature,  ami  eftectually  open  his  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  cause 
him  to  receive  "the  truth  in  the  love  of  it;"  and  strengthen 
the  feeble  knees  to  walk  in  the  way  of  truth. 

Courage,  liberality,  activity,  and  other  good  qualities  are 
often  highly  prized  by  those  Avho  do  not  possess  them  in  any 
great  degree  ;  but  the  zealous  thorough-going  love  of  truth 
is  not  very  much  admired,  or  liked,  or  indeed  understood, 
except  by  those  who  possess  it.  There  is  nothing  "covered," 
however,  that  shall  not  be  "revealed,"  nor  "hid,"  that  shall 
not  be  "known;"  and  lie  to  wliom  all  hearts  are  open  shall 
one  day,  by  the  brightness  of  His  presence,  clear  away  all 
obscurity,  and  dispel  all  falsehood  and  delusion ;  and  the 
genuine  and  fearless  lover  of  truth,  who  has  sought  not  "  the 
praise  of  men,"  but  the  praise  of  God  who  seeth  in  secret, 
shall  be  sanctified  through  Ilis  truth  here,  and  by  Him  be 
rewarded  openly  hereafter. 


ON  THE  MORAL  FACULTY. 


The  able  and  celebrated  Dr.  Paley,  with  other  writers 
not  few  or  obscure,  maintains  that  man  has  no  moral  faculty 
"whatever,  feels  naturally  no  disapprobation  of  ingratitude  or 
approbation  of  gratitude,  nor  perceives  any  distinction 
between  virtue  and  vice.  All  our  notions,  according  to 
Paley,  of  what  is  called  moral  obligation,  are  derived  from 
conformity  to  the  will  of  a  superior  Being,  with  a  view  solely 
to  our  own  eventual  interest.  And  the  distinction,  accord- 
ingly, between  Avhat  are  commonly  called  moral  precepts  — 
things  commanded  because  right  —  and  positive  precepts  — 
things  right  because  commanded — he  completely  does  away. 
Now  this  notion  that  the  commands  of  God,  as  delivered  in 
Scripture,  are  the  sole  foundation  of  morality — the  reference 
to  the  Divine  will,  the  only  standard  of  right  and  Avrong — • 
tends  inevitably  to  derogate  from  God's  honour,  and  to  de- 
prive the  Christian  revelation  of  its  just  evidence.  Since  to 
praise  the  pure  morality. of  the  Gospel,  if  the  Gospel  itself 
be  the  source  from  which  we  derive  all  our  ideas  of  morality, 
is  merely  attributing  to  the  Gospel  the  praise  of  being  con- 
formable to  the  rules  derived  from  itself;  and  to  call  the  will 
of  God  right  and  good,  if  our  original  ideas  of  righteousness 
and  goodness  imply  a  conformity  to  the  divine  will ;  is,  in 
fact,  no  more  than  saying,  that  the  will  of  God  is  the  will  of 
God.  And  this  renders  one,  in  particular,  of  our  Lord's  de- 
clarations, and  a  most  important  one,  unintelligible  and 
utterly  absurd.     "  The    servant  who    knew  not  Ilis  Lord's 


128  ON   THE   MORAL   FACULTY. 

will,  and  did  commit  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten 
■with  few  stripes."  For,  while  most  persons  would  readily 
understand  the  rule,  that  he  who  knciv  His  Lord's  will,  and 
did  it  not,  should  receive  heavier  punishment ;  the  rule  that 
one  who  "knew  not  his  Lord's  will,"  i.  e.,  who  had  not  re- 
ceived any  express  command,  could  commit  things  worthy 
of  stripes,  is  utterly  inconceivable  on  the  supposition  of 
men's  notions  of  right  and  wrong  being  derived  originally 
and  entirely  from  a  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God.  They  are 
indeed  derived  from  llis  will  in  the  true  sense  that  it  was 
His  will  to  create  man  a  being  endowed  Avith  a  moral 
faculty. 

God  has  not  revealed  to  us  in  the  Scriptures  a  system  of 
morality  such  as  would  have  been  needed  for  beings  who  had 
no  other  means  of  distinguishing  right  and  wrong.  On  the 
contrary,  the  inculcation  of  virtue  and  reprobation  of  vice  in 
Scripture,  arc  in  such  a  tone  as  seems  to  pre-suppose  a  natu- 
ral power,  or  a  capacity  for  acquiring  the  power,  to  distinguish 
them.  And  if  a  man,  denying  or  renouncing  all  claims  of 
natural  conscience,  should  practise  without  scruple  everything 
he  did  not  find  expressly  forbidden  in  Scripture,  and  think 
himself  not  bound  to  do  anything  that  is  not  there  expressly 
enjoined,  exclaiming  at  every  turn, 

"Is  it  so  written  in  the  Bond?" 

be  would  be  leading  a  life  very  unlike  what  a  Christian 
should  be. 

There  is  no  moral  formula  more  frequently  cited,  and  with 
more  deserved  admiration,  than  that  maxim,  of  doing  to 
others  as  we  would  have  them  do  to  us ;  and,  as  Paley  ob- 
serves, no  one  probably  ever  was  in  practice  led  astray  by 


ON   THE   MORAL   FACULTY.  129 

it.    Yet  if  we  imagine  this  maxim  placed  before  a  being  des- 
titute of  all  moral  faculty,  and  attempting  to  learn,  from 
this,  "what  morality  is,  lie  would  evidently  interpret  it  as  im- 
plying, that  we  are  to  do  whatever  we  should  wish  for,  if  in 
another's  place ;  which  would  lead  to  innumerable  absurdi- 
ties, and  in  many  cases  to  absolute  impossibilities ;  since,  in 
many  cases,   our  conduct  will   affect   two   or  more  parties, 
whose  wishes  are  at  variance  with  each  other.     A  judge,  for 
instance,  before  whom  there  might  be  a  cause  to  be  tried, 
would  feel  that  both  parties  wished,  each,  for  a  decision  in 
his  own  favour ;  which  would  be  manifestly  impossible.    But, 
in  practice,  every  one  feels  that  what  he  is  bound  to  do,  is 
not  necessarily  what  would  be  agreeable  to  his  inclinations, 
were  he  in  the  other's  place,  but  what  he  would  think  he 
Tm^\t  justly  and  reasonably  expect,     l^w  this  very  circum- 
stance implies  his  having  already  a  notion  of  what  is  just 
and  reasonable.     The  use  he  is  to  make  of  the  formula,  is, 
not  for  the  acquiring  of  these  general  principles,  but  for  the 
application  of  them,  in  those  cases  Avhere  self-interest  would 
be  the  most  likely  to  blind  him.     And  so  as  regards  moral 
conduct   generally,  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  do,  indeed, 
warn  men  against  the  particular  faults  to  which  they  are  es- 
pecially liable,  and  urge  on  them  the  practice  of  whatever 
duties  they  were  the  most  likely  to  neglect :  they  bring  for- 
ward strong  motives  for  holiness  of  life  such  as  no  human 
systems  or  precepts  could  afford,  and  they  bold  out  promises 
of  such   heaven-sent    support  and    aid  as  human  weakness 
needs ;  but  they  always  evidently  proceed  on  the  supposition 
that  men  do   use    (and  always  have  used)  such  words  as 
"virtue"  and  "vice,"  and  have  always  attached  some  moan- 
ing to  those  words,  and  understand  that  the  one  is  preferable 
to  the  other. 


130  ON   THE   MORAL   FACULTY. 

Dr.  ralcy  makes  all  our  ideas  of  the  diflercncc  between 
virtue  and  vice  consist  in  this,  that  the  one  "will  be  rewarded 
and  the  other  punished  by  the  Almighty  in  the  next  world, 
and  the  only  influencing  consideration  to  an  act  of  prudence 
or  virtue  to  be  our  gain  or  loss.  And  he  goes  on  to  say, 
that  those  who  have  no  knowledge  or  belief  of  a  future  state, 
must  frame  the  best  theory  of  virtue  they  can  for  themselves, 
unless  they  can  show  that  virtue  produces  the  greatest 
amount  of  happiness  in  this  world.  This  is  to  say  that  sin 
does  not  lead  to  suflfering  because  it  is  sin,  but  that  it  is  sin 
because  it  leads  to  suffering ;  and  it  follows  that  the  igno- 
rance or  disbelief  of  a  future  state  not  only  absolves  from  all 
moral  obligation,  but  destroys  even  the  very  idea  of  moral 
obligation,  resolving  it  all  into  submission  from  views  of  self- 
interest,  to  arbitrary,  physical  force.  And  this  theory  does 
away  with  what,  in  a  great  degree,  distinguishes  man  from 
the  brute  creation.  For  on  this  supposition,  the  brutes,  as 
capable  of  being  incited  by  reward  and  deterred  by  punish- 
ment, would  be  as  much  moral  agents  as  man.  And  yet  no 
one  thinks  of  applying  the  terms  "sin"  or  "crime"  to  a 
brute,  any  more  than  we  apjily  the  term  "  folly"  to  the  acta 
of  animals  destitute  of  reason.  But  in  truth,  as  Bishop 
Butler  has  justly  remarked,  "  What  renders  any  one  justly 
liable  to  punishment,  is  not  the  expectation  of  it,  but  the 
violation  of  a  known  duty." 

So  far  is  the  Moral  Faculty  from  being  anything  hostile 
to  religion,  or  a  pretended  substitute  for  it,  that,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  by  this  only  that  it  is  possible  to  perceive  that 
God  is  not  merely  a  ruler,  who  is  able  to  enforce  obedience, 
but  Avho  is  justly  entitled  to  obedience,  and  a  proper  object 
of  our  gratitude  and  love.  Had  man  no  natural  principle  of 
preference  for  benevolence  rather  than  malice,  and  had  he 


ON    THE    MORAL   FACULTY.  131 

been  left  to  derive  from  a  bare  contemplation  of  the  created 
universe  his  notions  of  the  moral  attributes  of  the  Deity,  ho 
could  not  come  to  the  conclusion  that  God  is  infinitely  benevo- 
lent. The  admixture  of  evil  in  His  v/orks,  which  wc  cannot 
account  for,  would  stand  in  the  way  of  such  a  conclusion.  If 
man  really  were  a  being  destitute  of  all  moral  sentiment — all 
innate  and  original  admiration  for  goodness,  he  would  in  that 
case  be  more  likely  to  come  to  the  conclusion  (as  many  of 
the  heathens  seem  actually  to  have  done)  that  the  Deity  was 
a  being  of  a  mixed  or  of  a  capricious  nature ;  an  idea  which, 
shocking  as  it  is  to  every  well-constituted  mind,  would  not 
be  so  in  the  least  to  such  a  mind  as  this  supposition,  of  the 
destitution  of  this  moral  sentiment,  attributes  to  the  whole 
human  race.  To  illustrate  this  argument  a  little  further,  let 
us  suppose  a  tasteful  architect,  and  a  rude  savage,  to  be  both 
contemplating  a  magnificent  building,  unfinished,  or  partially 
fallen  to  ruin ;  the  one,  not  being  at  all  able  to  comprehend 
the  complete  design,  nor  having  any  taste  for  its  beauties  if 
perfectly  exhibited,  Avould  not  attribute  any  such  design  to 
the  author  of  it,  but  would  suppose  the  prostrate  columns  and 
rough  stones  to  be  as  much  designed  as  those  that  were  erect 
and  perfect :  the  other  would  sketch  out,  in  his  own  mind, 
something  like  the  perfect  structure  of  Avhich  he  beheld  only 
a  part ;  and  though  he  might  not  be  able  to  explain  how  it 
came  to  be  unfinished  or  decayed,  would  conclude  that  some 
such  design  was  in  the  mind  of  the  builder  ;  though  this  same 
man,  if  he  were  contemplating  a  mere  rude  heap  of  stones 
which  bore  no  marks  of  design  at  all,  would  not  in  that  case 
draw  such  a  conclusion.  —  So  also  a  friend  whose  worth  and 
discretion  we  fully  rely  on,  will  sometimes  adopt  a  measure 
which,  on  that  ver}'-  ground,  wo  presume  the  right  one,  before 
we  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  particulars  to  judge  of  the 
case  itself.     But  we  should  be  surprised  to  have  it  inferred 


132  ON   THE   MORAL   FACULTY. 

from  tills,  that  our  estimate  of  his  character  universally,  was 
iiothinrt'  but  a  blind  partiality,  and  that  wc  had  no  notion  of 
what  are  good  or  bad  measures,  except  as  they  are,  or  are 
not,  his.  Nor  is  there  any  blameablc  presumption  in  the 
creature  forming  those  judgments  respecting  the  moral  nature 
of  the  Creator  which  lie  has  expressly  directed  us  to  form. 
"  Are  not,"  says  He,  "  my  ways  equal  ?  Are  not  your  ways 
unequal?  And  why  even  of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  that 
which  is  right?" 

If  tlicre  he,  independent  of  revelation,  and  irrespective  of 
the  arbitrary  Avill  of  a  Superior  Being,  no  faculty  of  forming 
any  notion  of  virtue  and  vice,  hoAV  did  the  heathen  moralists 
arrive  at  such  as  are  set  forth  in  Aristotle's  Treatise  of 
Etliics  ?  The  simple  fact  alone  of  the  existence  of  this  work, 
omitting  as  it  does  all  mention  of  future  retribution,  and  all 
reference  to  the  will  of  the  Deity,  is  sufficient  to  refute  com*, 
pletely  the  assertion,  that  unassisted  reason  cannot  furnish 
us  with  any  knowledge  of  duty,  and  of  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong. 

If  the  Author  of  the  Universe,  and  the  Author  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  Giver  of  reason  and  revelation,  be,  as  we  contend, 
the  same  Being,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  declarations  of 
Ilis  will,  which  we  meet  with  in  revelation,  should  correspond 
with  the  dictates  of  the  highest  and  most  perfect  reason ; 
and  the  testimony  of  the  heathen  moralists  affords  proof  that 
such  is  the  fact :  and  thus,  this  conformity  of  the  morality 
of  the  ancient  heathens,  in  all  the  most  fundamental  points, 
to  the  morality  of  the  Gospel,  furnishes  an  independent  and 
unexceptionable  testimony  in  favour  of  the  Gospel.  And 
this  testimony,  drawn  from  their  general  coincidence,  is  still 
more  established  by  their  differences  in  so  many  points.    For 


ox    THE    MORAL    FACULTY.  133 

all  the  peculiarities  of  the  Gospel-morality  appear  manifestly, 
on  an  attentive  inspection,  to  consist  not  in  departures  from, 
not  in  contradiction  to,  natural  morality ;  but  in  the  connec- 
tion, completion,  and  exaltation,  of  what  had  been  laid  down 
by  human  moralists.  As  far  as  any  moralist  has  fallen  short 
of  the  Gospel  precepts,  or  been  at  variance  with  them,  so 
far  has  he  been  inconsistent  with  his  own  principles,  rightly 
considered  and  duly  followed  up.  The  forgiveness  of  inju- 
ries might  bo  proved  to  a  candid  heathen  to  be  more  mag- 
nanimous upon  his  own  principles,  than  revenge. 

Strong  as  is  the  evidence  for  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
from  its  general  agreement  with  the  moral  systems  which 
men  have  devised,  it  is  still  more  conjfirmed  by  its  disagree- 
ment with  all  their  religious  systems.  Having  the  power  to 
so  great  a  degree  of  ascertaining  the  nature  of  virtue,  and 
its  conducivcness  to  happiness  in  this  life,  they  would,  one 
might  have  supposed,  hav'e  been  naturally  led  to  conclude, 
that,  if  the  same  God  be  the  Author  and  the  Governor  of 
this  world  and  the  next,  such  a  course  of  behaviour  as,  gene- 
rally speaking,  leads  to  the  greatest  and  most  exalted  enjoy- 
ment, should  coincide,  in  most  respects,  with  that  which  the 
Deity  prescribes  as  tending  to  the  happiness  of  the  other 
world.  Now,  as  no  system  of  religion  devised  by  man, 
exhibits  this  conformity,  but,  on  the  contrary,  prescribes 
means  of  attaining  the  favour  of  the  Deity  totally  uncon- 
nected with,  if  not  wholly  adverse  to,  man's  welfare  in  this 
world ;  and  as  in  the  Christian  religion  that  course  of  life 
which  is  most  fitted  to  promote  man's  welfare  in  this  Avorld, 
is  presented  as  necessary  to  secure  the  Divine  favour,  and 
the  promised  happiness  of  the  next  world ;  this  alone  is  a 
presumption  that  the  Author  of  this  world  is,  indeed,  the 
Author  of  our  religion — a  presumption  strengthened  by  find- 
12 


13-1  UN    TUE    MOUAL    FACULTY. 

in"',  that  the  defect  in  their  religious  systems  did  not  ariso 
from  their  incapacity  to  perceive  the  character  of  virtue,  or 
of  its  tendency  to  increase  human  happiness  in  this  life. 

The  strong  and  independent  testimony  borne  to  the  doc- 
trine that  Iminan  nature  is  corrupt,  by  a  comparison  of  the 
heathen  moralists  with  the  heathen  historians,  turns  that 
which  some  Christians,  as  well  as  infidels,  seem  to  regard  as 
one  of  the  burdens  which  Christianity  has  to  support,  into 
one  of  the  bulwarks  of  evidence  which  sustain  it.  AVhen  wo 
find  the  very  same  things  which  the  Bible  proclaims  as  well 
pleasing  to  God  acknowledged  by  them  to  be,  in  themselves, 
right  and  good,  while  they  also  acknowledge  man  is  of  him- 
self too  weak  to  practise  them,  we  see  man  himself  bearing 
witness  to  the  purity  of  the  Divine  laws,  to  the  corruption  of 
his  own  nature,  and  to  the  need  he  has  of  a  Redeemer  and 
Sanctifier ;  and  when  we  consider  the  discrepancy  of  philo- 
phical  principles  of  morality  with  the  absurdities  and  wicked- 
ness of  the  pagan  religions,  and  the  agreement  of  those  same 
principles  Avith  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  (that  Gospel  which 
was  preached  by  unlearned  fishermen),  Ave  have  the  heathens 
themselves  testifying,  as  it  were,  that  their  religions  do  not 
proceed  from  the  God  of  Nature,  and  that  ours  does. 

The  deficiency  of  the  heathen  systems  of  morality  was  in 
their  lack  of  those  motives  which  the  Gospel  supplies,  and  of 
that  Divine  support  and  aid  which  is  promised  to  the  sincere 
Christian.  A  heatlien  moralist  was  like  the  fabled  Prome- 
theus of  old,  who  is  said  to  have  fashioned  a  complete  and 
well-formed  human  body,  but  could  not  endue  it  with  the 
])riiiciple  of  life,  till  he  had  gone  UD  to  heaven  to  fetch  down 
a  vi\if)'ing  fire  from  thence. 


ON  FAITH  AND  SPIRITUAL  GUIDANCE. 


As  there  is  no  inconsistency  in  tliat  training  of  a  ciiiUI  Ly 
a  human  parent,  so  there  is  none  in  that  training,  during  our 
present  state  of  chihlhood  on  earth,  hy  "  our  Father  in 
heaven,"  which  at  once  encourages  profitahle  enquiry  and 
represses  impertinent  curiosity;  and  which,  while  checking 
indiscriminate  credulity,  yd  requires,  in  suhjects  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  learner's  faculties,  implicit  faith  on  sufficient 
authority. 

Those  who  profess,  by  simplifying  and  explaining  the  mys- 
teries of  the  Christian  religion,  to  make  Faith  easy,  destroy 
in  effect  the  very  nature  of  it,  considered  as  a  duty ;  for 
there  is  surely  no  virtue  in  assenting  to  Euclid's  propositions 
or  anything  demonstrable  to  the  understanding.  Such  men 
in  endeavouring  to  widen  the  strait  gate,  are  guilty  of  much 
the  same  fault  with  those  who  turn  aside  from  it  in  disgust. 
The  latter  will  not  believe  what  they  find  it  impossible  to  ex- 
plain ;  the  former  are  resolved  to  explain  what  they  find 
themselves  compelled  to  believe. 

The  stamp  and  outer  form  of  counterfeit  and  of  genuine 
coin  are  alike  —  even  7nore  alike  than  two  pieces  of  gold 
stamped  difterently;  though,  inwardly,  the  base  metal  and 
the  gold  differ  in  the  real  and  essential  point.  And  so  it  is 
with  false  and  genuine  faith.  They  are  very  much  alike  in 
outward  semblance ;  but  they  differ  in  this  all-important 
point — that  false  faith  is  a  rash  and  unreasonable  submission 

(135) 


136  ON   FAITU   AND   SPIRITUAL   GUIDAXCE. 

of  the  will  and  understanding  to  a  supposed  Divine  autlio- 
ritj ;  true  faith  is  a  deliberate  and  rational  submission  to  the 
guidance  of  an  authority,  i^roved  by  suflficient  evidence  to  be 
Divine. 

lie  who  believes  only  what  he  sees,  and  does  only  what  his 
understanding  pronounces  to  be  reasonable  in  each  particular 
command  of  God,  has  evidently  no  faith.  One  who  on  a 
dark  niirht  at  sea  fancies  he  sees  land  before  him,  while 
gazing  on  a  fog-bank,  should  at  least  not  pretend  to  have  as 
much  faith  in  the  pilot  as  one  who  believes  on  the  pilot's 
word,  that  the  land  is  near,  and  does  not  pretend  to  see  it. 
For  "Faith  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 

Faith  is,  as  some  have  justly  expressed  it,  "  the  hand  with 
which  the  believer  lays  hold  on  the  free  offers  of  Divine 
mercy."  "By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith"  is  the 
language  of  the  Apostle.  ''''Through  faith,"  not  l>y  faith; 
for  it  is  plain  that  if  the  believer  were  saved,  strictly  speak- 
ing, by  his  faith,  he  would  be  himself  as  much  his  own 
saviour  as  if  he  were  saved  by  his  works.  And  faith  must 
be  both  rightly  directed  towards  the  object  which  Ave  have 
good  grounds  for  relying  on ;  and  also  must  be  a  lively  {i.  e., 
living)  faith,  bringing  forth  good  works  and  necessary  fruit. 

The  practice  of  Paul  must  be  strictly  conformed  to,  of 
"comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual;"  and  of  remem- 
bering that  "  the  natural  man  receivetli  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  Him ;  neither 
can  lie  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned." 

To  urge  the  use  and  advantage  of  reason  in  religious 
en(j[uiry,  is  not  necessarily  to  imply  that  there  are  no  secrets 


ON    TAITII    AND    SPIRITUAL    GUIDANCE.  137 

in  religion  which  reason  alone  cannot  fully  comprehend.  As 
mere  general  intelligence  is  not  sufficient  to  giv^e  a  full  and 
sufficient  appreciation  of  a  poem,  or  a  picture  without  artis- 
tical  or  poetical  taste,  so  men  of  ordinary  intelligence  may 
understand  the  great  outlines  of  a  doctrine,  but  unless  they 
possess  devotional  taste,  it  will  be  to  them  a  mere  outline,  a 
skeleton :  very  correct,  perhaps,  but  wanting  life  and  anima- 
tion. The  secret  which  gives  it  animation  —  "the  secret  of 
the  Lord  —  is  with  them  that  fear  Him,"  and,  unlike  the  ar- 
tistical  or  poetical  taste,  which  is  not  given  to  all,  this  fear 
of  the  Lord  may  be  possessed  by  every  man,  in  proportion 
as  he  himself  desires  it,  in  virtue  of  the  gracious  promise  that 
He  will  "give  His  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him."  "  If 
any  man  ivill  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God."  .  .  . 

Though  the  Divine  dispensation  of  spiritual  aid  is  no 
longer  miraculous,  the  presence  of  Christ  no  longer  visible, 
for  we  "walk  (wholly)  by  faith,  not  by  sight,"  still  that  aid 
is  not  less  real,  that  presence  not  less  abiding.  The  Spirit 
ever  "helpeth  our  infirmities."  Our  Divine  Master  has 
promised  to  "  come  unto  them  that  love  Him  and  keep  His 
saying,"  and  "to  manifest  Himself  to  them."  He  speaks  to 
them,  though  not  in  a  literally  audible  voice.  He  leads 
them,  not  less  really  than  of  old,  though  not  literally,  by  the 
hand,  for  "as  many,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "as  are  led  by 
the  spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God."  If  we  look 
earnestly,  we  shall  see  Him :  if  we  listen  attentively,  we 
shall  hear  His  voice. 

It  is  clear  to  any  one  who  seeks  in  earnest  to  be  led  by  the 
Scriptures,  that  when  our  Saviour  promises  that  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whom  the  Father  should  send  in  Christ's  name,  should 
12  * 


138  ON    FAITH    AND    SPIRITUAL    GUIDANCE. 

teach  tlicm  all  things  ami  should  "abide  with"  them  "for 
ever," — ''that  Spirit  of  Truth,"  whom,  lie  said,  they  knew, 
"  for  He  dwclleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you  :  these  words 
of  Ilis  are  not  to  be  explained  as  relating  merely  to  a  system 
of  doctrines  and  motives, — to  an  abstract  religious  j^rinciple, 
but  to  a  real,  individual,  personal  agent,  operating  on  the 
minds  of  believers ;  which  is  called,  amidst  the  diversity  of 
operations,  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  not  figuratively,  as  when 
we  speak  of  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  the  spirit  of  philosophi- 
cal enquiry,  and  the  like ;  but  literally  and  numerically,  one 
Being,  even  the  one  God  whose  temple  is  the  whole  body  of 
the  faithful ;  which  temple  they  arc  warned  not  to  "  defile, 
lest  God  destroy"  them.  For,  if  any  one  could  even  so  strain 
this  last  expression  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  likewise  all  the 
words  of  Christ  Himself,  as  to  interpret  them  into  mere 
metaphor,  it  would  still  be  impossible  for  him  to  conceive  a 
mere  principle  of  action  —  a  Christian  spirit  in  that  trans- 
feiTcd  sense  of  the  word,  —  enabling  Christians  to  work 
sensible  miracles ;  and  these  we  find  distinctly  attributed  to 
the  immediate  agency  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  And  these  sen- 
sible miracles  served  to  prove,  amongst  other  things,  that 
the  promised  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  His  Church 
was  not  to  be  understood  as  a  mere  figure  of  speech,  denoting 
their  adherence  to  the  doctrines  lie  taught,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  the  inspired  record  of  them,  but  a  real,  though 
unseen  presence,  by  His  Spirit;  not  the  mere  keeping  of 
His  commandments  through  love  for  his  memory,  but  a 
spiritual  union  with  Him ;  at  once  the  promised  reward,  and 
the  bond  and  support,  of  that  obedient  love,  —  the  cfi'oct  at 
once  and  cause  of  our  "keeping  His  saying."  "For  if  any 
man  love  Me,"  said  He,  "he  will  keep  My  saying,  and  my 
Father  will  love  liim,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
our  abode  with  him." 


ON   FAITH    AND    SPIRITUAL   GUIDANCE.  139 

The  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  wliicli  our  Lord  pro- 
mised, is  not  to  be  understood  as  confined  to  the  Apostles 
and  other  early  disciples,  or  to  such  miraculous  powers  as 
■were  conferred  on  them.  Would  Jesus  have  said  in  that 
case,  "  I  pray  not  for  them  alone,  but  for  those  also  who 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word  ?"  Or  would  Paul, 
when  writing  to  the  Romans,  who  had  at  that  time  received 
no  miraculous  gifts,  have  said  "  The  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  tlte  Holy  Ghost  ichich  is  given  unto 
us  ;...."  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are 
the  sons  of  God,"  ..."  if  so  be  that  the  spirit  of  God  dwell 
in  you ;"  .  .  .  "  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he 
is  none  of  His:"  .  .  .  "the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with 
our  spirit :"  "  Repent  and  be  baptized,"  said  Peter  to  the 
multitude,  "  into  the  name  (for  so  the  word  should  bo  ren- 
dered) of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  unto 
you,  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  as 
many  as  the  Lord  your  God  shall  call."  The  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  is  held  out  to  all  who  have  been  thus 
called;  i.  e.,  have  heard  the  Gospel  preached  to  them,. and 
is  as  effectual  for  their  private  individual  wants,  as  the 
miraculous  powers  bestowed  on  the  Apostles  were  for  the 
wants  of  the  infant-church.  To  each  of  us  is  promised,  no 
less  the  far  more  important  benefit  of  the  inward  comfort,  — 
the  guidance,  the  spiritual  sanctification  of  heart,  which  every 
man  needs,  and  of  which  every  Christian  is  invited  to  par- 
take. The  necessity  of  miraculous  evidences  to  establish  our 
religion  has  ceased ;  since  enough  evidence  has  been  left  to 
satisfy  a  candid  mind.  The  gift  of  tongues  is  no  longer 
required,  since  ignorant  fishermen  are  not  (as  then)  called 
upon  suddenly  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  in  distant  lands ;  but 
every  individual  Christian  who  comes  into  the  world,  being 


140  ON    FAITU    AND    SPIRITUAL    GUIDANCE. 

born  of  the  frail  and  sinful  race  of  Adam,  has  need  of  being 
"  born  again,"  as  our  Lord  says,  "  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
in  order  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And  we 
have  daily  need  throughout  our  lives  of  the  renewing  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  enable  us  to  know  and  love  God, 
since  "no  one,"  says  our  Lord,  "can  come  unto  me,  except 
my  Father  who  hath  sent  me  draw  him."  We  all  need  His 
heavenly  light  to  clear  our  eyes  from  spiritual  blindness,  and 
to  enable  us  to  see  all  things  in  their  true  colours,  and  shape, 
and  magnitude.  We  all  need  His  "  Spirit  which  helpeth  our 
infirmities,"  that  we  may  "be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the 
power  of  His  might,  and  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of 
the  devil."  From  all  the  delusions,  in  short,  and  from  all 
the  temptations  in  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  the 
Christian  can  only  be  preserved  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
dwelling  in  him ;  which  he  has,  therefore,  as  much  need  to 
seek,  and  may  have  as  full  confidence  of  obtaining,  as  the 
Apostles  themselves. 

One  important  distinction,  Avith  respect  to  the  Divine  as- 
sistance and  spiritual  endowment  between  the  Christian 
Church  and  the  Jewish,  is,  that  whatever  sanctifying  aid  may 
have  been  supplied  under  the  Old  Covenant,  it  was  no  part 
of  that  Covenant;  —  of  the  Christian  covenant  it  is.  God 
the  Holy  Ghost  —  God  manifest  in  the  Sinrit,  M'as  not  the 
permanent  liulcr  of  the  former  Church,  as  He  is  of  the 
Christian  Church.  He  is  our  Promised  and  Permanent  Com- 
forter ;  He  is  the  '''''promise  of  the  Father"  sent  that  "Ho 
may  abide  with  us/o?'  ever.'' 

The  Apostles  inferred  this  or  that  to  be  right  or  true  from 
its  Ijciug  liie  suggestii)n  of  the  Spirit  as  attested  to  tliem  by 
iniracle.'^ ;   we  must  rtvcr.:e  ihcir  procedure  and  judge  any- 


ox    FAITH    AND    SPIRITUAL    GUIDANCE.  141 

thing  to  be  the  suggestion  of  the  Spirit  by  its  being  right 
and  true,  evidenced  to  us  to  be  so  by  the  Scripture,  that  re- 
cord of  the  dictates  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  our  life  and 
faith  are  agreeable  to  the  Gospel,  this  is  the  ground  of  con- 
fidence that  they  arc  right ;  and  if  right,  they  must  come 
from  that  sanctifying,  and  enlightening,  and  supporting 
grace,  which  alone  can  raise  to  life  the  dead  in  sin,  and 
purify  man's  corrupt  nature,  and  eflfectually  open  his  eyes  to 
the  truth,  and  "strengthen  the  feeble  knees"  to  walk  in 
God's  paths. 

The  miraculous  gift  was  only  the  proof  and  pledge  of 
spiritual  influence ;  the  seal  and  earnest  that  the  treasure 
had  been  bestowed,  and  not  the  treasure  itself.  And  as  the 
blaze  of  the  pillar  which  guided  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  proved  to  them  the  Divine  presence  among  them, 
was  withdrawn  when  they  were  sufficiently  convinced  of  that 
presence,  and,  as  it  were,  familiar  with  the  belief  that  the 
Lord  was  among  them  as  their  Protector  and  King  —  the 
manifestation  of  "the  glory  of  the  Lord"  being  thencefor- 
ward enclosed  within  the  Most  Holy  place ; — so  the  outward 
and  sensible  marks  of  God's  presence  in  His  Church  were 
gradually  withdrawn,  when  sufficient  evidence  had  been 
afforded  of  that  presence ;  which  is  still  not  less  real  or  less 
effectual  than  before ;  and  Avhich  is  no  longer  miraculously 
disjilayed,  only  because  it  has  been  already  sufficiently 
proved. 

There  is  an  opposite  error  to  the  looking  for  sensible  de- 
monstrations to  the  mind  of  being  under  spiritual  influence. 
It  is  that  of  those  who  acknowledge  in  general  terms  the  ex- 
istence and  tlie  necessity  of  the  ordinary  operations  of  the 
Spirit,  but  explain  them  away  in  each  particular  case ;  and 


142  ON    Tllli:    APl'KAL    OF    CIlllI.-TIAN    TRUTH 

tlms  completely  nullify  the  doctrine.  They  allow  that 
Christians  are  to  expect  the  sanctifying  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  but  each  separate  work  in  which  this  Divine  agency 
can  possibly  operate,  being  of  course  such  as  right  reason 
wouhl  approve,  they  refer  to  right  reason  alone ;  and  by  this 
means  they  exclude  one  by  one  every  possible  instance  in 
which  the  ordinary  grace  of  the  Spirit  can  operate ;  for  any- 
thing which  could  not  be  traced  to  any  natural  cause,  would 
clcai'ly  be  miraculous.  But  a  doctrine  which  is  true  gene- 
rally, cannot  be  false  in  every  particular  instance.  In  fact, 
what  we  mean  by  the  ordinary  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  His  operation  through  second  causes ;  His  aid  to  our  en- 
deavours ;  His  blessing  upon  the  means  of  grace.  We  are 
taught  to  pray  for  our  daily  bread  as  God's  gift,  though  it 
is  not  like  manna  showered  miraculously  from  the  skies ;  and 
every  Christian  thought,  and  word,  and  deed  is  no  less  "  from 
above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,"  though 
it  come  not  accompanied  with  fiery  tongues,  and  the  "  sound 
of  a  mighty  wind."  Its  Christian  goodness  is  the  sign  of  it3 
spiritual  origin. 


ON  THE  APPEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  TRUTH  TO  THE  AFFECTIONS. 

The  Gospel  turns  to  its  own  gracious  purposes  all  the 
tendencies  of  human  nature  that  arc  not  evil.  It  stops  not 
the  current,  but  directs  it  into  the  i)roper  channel. 

One  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  the  gospel  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  its  continual  appeal  to  the  affections.  "  If  ye 
love  Me,  keep  My  commandments."  Here  is  the  best  prin- 
ciple set  forth,  and  the  best  application  of  it;  the  purest 


TO    THE    AFFECTIONS.  143 

motive  and  tlic  most  perfect  practice.  The  love  of  Christ  is 
the  proper  ground  of  our  obedience ;  and  our  obedience,  the 
proper  effect,  and  the  sure  test,  of  our  love  for  Christ. 

Reason  can  no  more  influence  the  Avill,  and  operate  as  a 
motive,  than  the  eyes  "which  show  a  man  his  read  can  enable 
him  to  move  from  place  to  place ;  or  that  a  ship,  provided 
Avith  a  compass,  can  sail  without  a  wind. 

The  apostle  John,  when  he  said,  "  No  man  liatli  seen  God 
at  any  time,"  seems  to  have  had  in  mind  not  merely  the 
difficulty  to  such  a  creature  as  man,  of  making  a  being  whose 
nature  is  so  incomprehensible  that  our  knowledge  of  Ilim  is 
chiefly  negative,  a  steady  object  of  thought ;  but  also  that 
still  greater  diflSculty  of  setting  his  affections  on  this  aAvful 
and  inconceivable  Being ; — of  addressing,  as  a  tender  parent, 
Ilim  who  has  formed  out  of  nothing,  and  could  annihilate  in 
a  moment,  countless  myriads,  perhaps,  of  worlds  besides  our 
own ;  and  to  whom  "  the  nations  are  but  as  the  drop  of  a 
bucket,  and  the  small  dust  of  a  balance;"  —  of  imploring 
favour  and  deprecating  punishment  from  Him  who  has  no 
passions  or  wants  as  we  have ;  —  the  difficulty,  in  short,  of 
holding  spiritual  intercourse  with  One  with  whom  we  can 
have  no  sympathy,  and  of  whom  we  can  with  difficulty  form 
any  clear  conception.  But  the  apostle  adds,  "  The  only- 
begotten  Son  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath 
declared  Him ;"  and  thus  seems  to  have  conceived  such  a 
"declaration"  of  God  as  calculated  not,  indeed,  wholly  to 
remove  these  impediments  to  love  and  devotion,  but  so  far  to 
moderate  and  lower  them  as  to  leave  them  no  longer  insuper- 
able to  a  willing  mind. 

The  Divine  "  Word  was  made  flesh"  to  lead  us  to  affec- 
tionate piety,  and  the  manhood  was  taken  into  God  to  teach 


1-44  ON    THE    APPEAL    OF    CHRISTIAN    TRUTH 

US  Godlike  virtue.  The  one  purpose  may  be  said  to  have 
been  to  bring  do^Ya  God  to  man ;  the  other  to  lift  up  man 
towards  God. 

God  sent  His  Son  into  the  world  to  proclaim  peace  to  all 
■who  should  hoar  and  accept  His  offers.  He  came  to  encoun- 
ter and  overcome  Satan  —  to  offer  up  Himself  as  a  sacrifice 
— "  the  just  for  the  unjust" — and  to  proclaim  pardon,  not  as 
if  sin  -were  a  light  thing  in  God's  sight,  but  as  purchased  by 
the  precious  and  "innocent  blood."  He  came  to  "bind  up 
the  broken-hearted  ;  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives  ;" 
and  promised  to  come  unto  them  that  should  love  Him,  and 
to  make  His  abode  in  them  by  His  Spirit ;  that  they  might 
be  enabled  to  follow  the  bright  example  He  had  set  them, 
and  thus  to  live  in  peace  with  God  —  to  become  the  sons  of 
God,  and  after  death  to  enter  into  His  eternal  rest ;  the  re- 
Avard  which  He,  not  they,  had  earned. 

The  burden  of  grief  may,  indeed,  be  lightened  by  the 
sympathy  of  others ;  but  the  burden  of  guilt  can  be  taken 
off  our  consciences  only  by  God's  forgiveness.  Men  forget, 
that  for  bearing  both  burdens  they  have  a  great  High  Priest 
in  heaven,  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  who  "  bore  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows;"  upon  whom  "the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  laid,  and  by  whose  stripes  we  arc  healed;"  who 
"  can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant,  and  on  them  that  are 
out  of  the  way,"  having  been  Himself  "tempted  in  all 
points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin;"  being  subject  to  all 
the  wants,  infirmities,  and  temptations  incident  to  His,  and 
cur,  human  nature.  All  this  calls  for  our  sympathy  as  well 
as  reverence  and  gratitude ;  and  tlie  affectionate  attachment 
thus  so  naturally  generated  will  udhere  (if  I  may  so  express 
myself)  to  the  divine  nature  of  the  Saviour  also,  and  when 


TO    THE    AFFECTIONS.  145 

we  worship  Ilim,  though  wc  worship  Ilim  not  as  man,  but 
as  God,  still  it  will  give  an  affectionate  fervour  to  our  devo- 
tions, to  have  an  habitual  remembrance,  that  this  very  God 
was  also  man, deigning  for  our  sakes  to  be  "made  flesh,  and 
dwell  among  us,"  "taking  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  humbling  Himself  even  unto  the  death  of  the  cross." 

It  seems  to  be  commonly  taken  for  granted  that  Avhenever 
the  feelings  are  strongly  excited,  they  are  necessarily  over- 
excited ;  it  may  be  that  they  are  only  brought  into  the  state 
which  the  occasion  fully  justifies;  or  even  that  they  still  fall 
short  of  this.  Stimulants  are  not  to  be  condemned,  as  ne- 
cessarily bringing  the  body  into  an  unnatural  state,  because 
they  raise  the  circulation  ;  in  a  fever  this  would  be  hurtful ; 
but  there  may  be  a  torpid,  lethargic  disease  in  which  an  ex- 
citement of  the  circulation  is  precisely  what  is  wanted  to 
bring  it  into  a  healthy  condition. 

Men  are  not  satisfied  with  pointing  out  to  a  young  person 
the  necessity  of  being  diligent  in  his  business,  inasmuch  as 
on  that  depends  his  subsistence,  and  all  his  hopes  of  wealth 
and  distinction ;  but  they  strive  also  to  inspire  him  with  a 
love  for  his  employment  —  a  taste  for  his  profession,  as  the 
best  safeguard  against  the  many  temptations  to  indolence  and 
dissipation.  Surely  the  path  of  Christian  duty  is  not  beset 
with  fewer  temptations,  nor  is  it  less  necessary  to  engage  the 
feelings  on  the  side  of  duty,  to  fix  the  affections  on  the 
Redeemer. 

No  man  would  much  prize  a  friend  (indeed,  he  would  be 
reckoned  unworthy  of  the  name)  who  felt  no  regard  for  him, 
but  did  him  service  merely  because  he  perceived  it  was  for 
13 


14G  ON   THE   APPEAL   OF   CHRISTIAN   TKUTH 

liis  own  interest.  Nor  will  Christ  accept  this  kind  of  servico 
from  His  followers,  lie  re<|uires  them  to  give  fip  their  hearts 
to  Him  and  to  obey  Him,  not  merely  as  "servants,"  but  as 
"  friends." 

The  language  of  promise  and  threatening  —  the  appeal  to 
the  reason  and  to  the  interests  of  men — is  not  the  prevailing 
character — not  the  general  tone,  as  it  were,  of  the  discourses 
of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  when  addressing  believers.  They 
hold  out  a  nobler  and  purer  motive.  They  chiefly  insist  on 
love  towards  Christ,  not  certainly  as  a  substitute  for  obe- 
dience, but  as  the  foundation  of  obedience  —  as  the  great 
principle,  the  main  spring  of  Christian  conduct,  —  they  urge 
us  to  fix  those  warm  affections  which  God  has  implanted  in 
our  breasts,  and  which  were  never  meant  to  be  rooted  out,  on 
the  most  suitable  and  noblest  objects.  "  The  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us,"  says  Paul,  and  "  He  died  for  all,  that  they 
which  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  Him  who  died  for  them  and  rose  again." 

Christ  and  His  Apostles  well  knew  that  a  cold  address  to 
the  understanding  —  a  mere  chain  of  arguments  —  serves 
rather  to  make  men  acknowledge  what  they  ought  to  do  than 
to  excite  them  actually  to  do  it.  It  may  lead  them  to  think 
rightly  about  religion,  but  not  to  feel  and  act  rightly.  It  is 
like  tha  moonlight  —  clear,  indeed,  and  beautiful,  but  power- 
less and  cold ;  their  preaching,  on  the  contrary,  was  like  the 
light  of  the  sun,  which  warms  Avhilc  it  illuminates,  and  not 
only  adorns  but  fertilizes  the  earth. 

The  object  of  friendship  is  not  certain  qualities  merely, 
but  a  certain  individual  person.     The  cravings  of  an  affcc- 


TO    THE    AFFECTIONS.  147 

tionate  heart  can  only  be  satisfied  "with  the  very  person  on 
whom  it  is  fixed.  Therefore  that  peculiar  characteristic  of 
our  religion  -which  consists  in  its  continual  reference  to 
•  persons,  and  especially  to  that  Great  Person  who  is  the 
Author  of  it,  rather  than  to  abstract  things,  is  eminently 
calculated  to  win  over  the  affections,  and  to  gain  the  heart. 
And  strikingly  is  this  characteristic  exhibited  by  the  Apostle 
Paul,  whether  in  speaking  of  the  Christian's  hopes,  or  of  the 
Christian's  duties.  If  the  latter  be  his  theme,  it  is  not  of 
Christian  virtue  in  the  abstract  that  he  speaks  most  often, 
but  of  it  embodied,  exemplified,  represented,  2^^''' sonified  in 
Jesus  Christ.  lie  speaks  of  "  walking  in  love,  as  Christ  also 
hath  loved  us;"  of  "putting  on  Christ;"  of  "being  buried 
rvith  Him  in  baptism  ;"  of  "  being  risen  with  Christ ;"  "  look- 
ing unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,"  at  every 
step.  And  on  the  other  hand  he  does  not  speak  so  much  of 
eternal  happiness  in'  the  abstract  as  of  the  happiness  of  an 
intimate  union  with  our  Great  Master ;  to  die  is,  with  Him, 
to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ ;"  after  "  having  suffered  with 
Him,  to  reign  also  with  Him;''  of  "the  crown  of  glory," 
which  He,  the  righteous  Lord,  has  prepared  for  all  that 
"/ore  his  appearing ;"  and  his  encouragement  to  the  Thes- 
salonians  is,  "so  shall  we  ever  be  zvitJi,  the  Lord."  And  this 
tone  is  the  more  remarkable  in  the  expressions  of  Paul,  from 
the  circumstance  that  he  was  not,  like  the  other  Apostles, 
personally  acquainted  with  Jesus  while  on  earth.  '  Thus  also 
the  Evangelist  John  (as  well  befitted  the  beloved  disciple) 
places  both  all  Christian  perfection  in  conformity  to  the  pat- 
tern, and  all  happiness  and  glory  in  admission  to  the  pre- 
sence of  our  Great  Master.  "  We  know  not  what  we  shall 
be ;  but  we  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is ;  as  much  as  to  say, 
even  the  very  hope  of  hereafter  "  being  with  the  Lord,"  leads 


148  ON   THE   APPEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   TRUTH. 

believers  to  conform  themselves  to  the  example  of  Ilis  purity: 
ami  the  actual  enjovment  of  His  presence  avIU  carry  further 
and  complete  that  resemblance  to  their  Divine  Master,  -which 
they  are  now,  through  the  promised  aid  of  God's  sanctifying 
Spirit,  striving  after.  And  our  Lord's  own  language  is  of 
the  same  tone :  as  the  motive  lie  seeks  to  implant  in  the 
disciple's  breast  is,  as  has  been  said,  love,  gratitude  and 
reverence  for  Himself;  so  the  encouragement  He  sets  before 
them  is  the  hope,  not  merely  of  happiness  in  the  abstract, 
but  of  intimate  union  and  close  intercourse  Avith  Himself: 
"  If  ye  love  Me,  keep  My  commandments."  "  If  a  man  love 
Me,  he  will  keep  my  saying,  and  My  Father  will  love  him, 
and  We  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 
"I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  I  will  corne  unto  youJ" 
"  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself,  that  where 
I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 


MISCELLANEOUS  APOPHTHEGMS. 

Four  kinds  of  bad  examples  do  us  harm  :  —  1.  Those  v,o 
imitate ;  2.  those  ■we  proudly  exult  over ;  3.  those  which 
drive  us  into  an  opposite  extreme  ;  and  4.  those  which  lower 
our  standard.  A  man  is  always  in  danger  of  being  satisfied, 
and  perhaps,  more  than  satisfied,  if  he  does  but  excel ;  and 
excellence  is  relative.  Whence  it  comes  that  bad  examples 
do  much  the  greatest  amount  of  evil  among  those  who  do  not 
follow  them.  For  one  who  is  corrupted  by  becoming  as  bad 
as  a  bad  example,  there  are  ten  that  are  debased  by  becom- 
ing content  with  being  better. 

An  honest  man  has,  eseteris  paribus,  a  better  knowledge 
of  human  nature  than  a  knave ;  because  he  knows  that  there 
are  knaves ;  while  the  other  generally  disbelieves  the  exist- 
ence of  honest  men.  Inferior  motives,  self-interest,  love  of 
ease,  &c.,  are  understood  by  all,  because  they  exist  in  all. 
The  higher  motives  do  not  exist  in  the  baser  part  of  mankind, 
who,  consequently,  are  apt  not  to  believe  in  them.  It  is  to 
this  Miss  Edgeworth  alludes,  when  she  speaks  of  the  class  of 
persons  who  "  divide  all  mankind  into  knaves  and  fools ;  and 
when  they  meet  with  an  honest  man,  do  not  know  what  to 
make  of  him." 

The  poet  who  said,  "  Little  things  are  great  to  little  men," 
might  have  added,  "  Great  things  are  little  to  little  men." 

As  a  great  part  of  the  pleasure  afforded  by  wit  results 
from  2b  2^erception  a/ s/ivY?  displayed  and  difficulty  surmounted, 
1:3*  '  ,        "  (149) 


150  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

jests  on  sacred  subjects  afford  the  least  gratification  to  judfres 
of  good  taste,  for  tliis  reason,  (apart  from  all  higher  con- 
siderations.) that  they  are  the  most  easily  produced  of  any ; 
the  contrast  between  a  dignified  and  a  low  image  exhibited 
in  combination,  (in  which  the  whole  force  of  the  ludicrous 
consists,)  being  in  this  case  the  most  striking. 

Lord  B3-ron,  though  a  dangerous  writer  to  the  very 
thoughtless,  may,  in  his  later  works,  prove  a  very  serviceable 
writer  to  a  person  of  tolerable  good  sense,  by  furnishing 
a  sort  of  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  the  whole  system  of 
scoffing. 

A  Socinian,  we  will  say,  who  fancies  ridicule  the  test  of 
truth,  thinks  he  has  made  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation 
appear  perfectly  absurd  by  having  held  it  up  to  ridicule  and 
scorn ;  professing  all  along,  and  perhaps,  feeling,  the  most 
serious  veneration  for  Christianity.  But  the  Deist  finds  it 
very  easy  to  employ  the  same  plan  for  his  purposes  ;  for,  in 
fact,  "everything,"  says  the  proverb,  "has  two  handles," 
and  it  is  not  difficult  to  place  Christianity  in  such  a  point  of 
view  that  it  shall  seem  extravagant  and  ridiculous,  and  so  to 
interweave  Avith  every  part  of  it  absurd  ideas,  and  to  suggest 
low  and  ludicrous  associations  that  it  shall  seem  unworthy  of 
serious  notice.  Meantime,  he  is  perhaps  not  at  all  aware  of 
what  he  is  about,  not  dreaming  that  what  he  calls  natural  re- 
ligion may  be  laughed  down,  just  on  the  same  plan.  The 
Atheist  does  this  for  him,  making  the  whole  constitution  and 
course  of  nature  appear  a  joke  —  the  universe,  a  whimsical 
and  random  jumble  of  atoms  ;  yet  he  will  still  have  some 
ground  to  stand  on,  as  he  will  talk  very  big  of  conforming 
to  the  excellence  of  human  nature,  of  the  perfectibility  of 
the  species,  and  of  virtue  being  its  own  reward,  kc. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  151 

Next  comes  the  pliilosophcr,  or  philosophico-sentlmontalist 
of  some  of  the  German  schools,  -who,  in  like  manner,  holds 
up  to  scorn  all  rules  of  ethics  —  all  pretence  of  acting  on 
fixed  principles  ;  and  is  all  for  "  listening  to  the  dictates  of 
the  heart,"  "following  the  impulse  of  unsophisticated 
nature,"  &c.,  &c.  If,  therefore,  you  ask  Mm  whether  there 
is  anything  at  all  that  is  worthy  of  serious  regard,  he  will 
refer  you  to  those  feelings  as  what  ought  to  be  so  considered. 
Then  forth  steps  Lord  Byron,  and  sliows  you  that  it  is  not  a 
whit  more  difficult  to  turn  into  ridicule  all  the  most  natural 
feelings  of  the  human  heart ;  thus  overthrowing  the  last 
stronghold  to  which  reason,  or  anything  partaking  of  reason, 
can  retire ;  extinguishing  this  last  faint  glimmer  of  twilight, 
on  the  same  principle  by  which  the  utmost  brilliancy  that 
human  wisdom  can  attain  had  been  quenched. 

A  man  of  any  considerate  common  sense  will  be  apt  to 
pause  at  this,  and  reflect,  that  since  there  surely  is  sometJiing 
which  is  not  a  mere  joke,  and  since  it  now  appears  plain  that 
there  is  nothing  which  may  not  be  so  represented,  by  one 
who  has  the  knack  of  setting  things  in  an  absurd  point  of 
view,  it  may  be  as  Avell,  to  try  over  again,  with  serious 
candour,  everything  which  has  been  hastily  given  up  as  fit 
only  for  ridicule,  and  to  abandon  the  system  of  scoffing  al- 
together ;  looking  at  everything  on  the  right  side  as  well  as 
the  wrong,  and  trying  how  any  system  will  look  standing 
upright,  as  well  as  topsy-turvy. 

There  seems  to  me  a  considerable  resemblance  between 
Lord  Byron,  Voltaire  in  his  Oandkle,  and  Swift  in  his 
IlouyJiymns  ;  viz.,  that  each  seems  to  satirize  not  merely  any 
class  of  mankind  in  general,  as  they  are,  but  human  nature 
in  the  abstract :  one  might  suppose  each  to  be  a  being  (as,  I 
think.  Mad.  de  Stiiel  says  of  Voltaire)  of  a  different  species. 


152  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

Swift  does  not,  however,  so  fully  answer  the  purpose  of  a 
reductio  ad  ahsurdum,  because  though  he  laughs  at,  and 
abuses,  everything  that  is,  he  seems  to  have  a  real  value  for 
something  that  is  conceivable.  The  ridicule,  however,  which, 
in  his  account  of  Lagoda  he  throws  indiscriminately  on  all 
projects  of  improvement,  (for  he  represents  his  man  of  sense 
not  as  steering  a  middle  course,  but  as  being  against  all  alte- 
rations, wishing  to  let  everything  remain  just  as  it  was,) 
when  compared  with  the  improvements  which  have,  since  his 
time,  taken  place  in  agricultural  implements,  machinery  of 
various  sorts,  gas-lamps,  rail-roads,  steamboats,  and  number- 
less things  connected  with  chemistry,  abundantly  prove  how 
possible,  and  how  easy,  it  is  to  make  what  is  perfectly 
rational  and  highly  dignified,  assume  an  air  of  the  wildest 
and  most  ludicrous  absurdity.  Astronomy  and  electricity 
have  been  most  copiously  ridiculed  in  their  time ;  —  see  a 
satire  of  Hudibras — Butler  —  on  the  Royal  Society,  soon 
after  its  establishment. 

It  is  a  good  plan,  with  a  young  person  of  a  character  to 
be  much  aflfected  by  ludicrous  and  absurd  representations,  to 
show  him  plainly,  by  examples,  that  there  is  nothing  which 
may  not  be  so  represented ;  he  will  hardly  need  to  be  told 
that  every  thing  is  not  a  mere  joke,  and  he  may  thus  be  se- 
cured from  falling  into  a  contempt  of  those  particular  things, 
which  he  may,  at  any  time,  happen  to  find  so  treated. 

Certainly,  it  cannot  be  said  that  Lord  Byron  has  put  vice 
in  the  most  seductive  form ;  for  he  always  places  it  in  com- 
pany with  acute  suffering  or  dismal  gloom.  And  though,  in 
many  instances,  he  has  conferred  a  dignity  on  his  vicious 
character,  nearly  (not  quite)  as  seductive  as  that  of  Milton's 
Satan,  yet  in  Don  Juan  he  has  robbed  it  even  of  dignity. 
His  Avritings,  however,  may  do  harm  to  the  very  thoughtless. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  153 

Sophistry,  like  poison,  is  at  once  detected  and  nauseated, 
when  presented  to  us  in  a  concentrated  form ;  but  a  fallacy 
which,  ■when  stated  barely  in  a  few  sentences,  would  not  de- 
ceive a  child,  may  deceive  half  the  world,  if  diluted' in  a 
quarto  volume.  It  is  true,  in  a  course  of  argument,  as  in 
mechanics,  that  "nothing  is  stronger  than  its  weakest  part," 
and  consequently  a  chain  which  has  one  faulty  link  will 
break ;  but  though  the  number  of  the  sound  links  adds 
nothing  to  the  strength  of  the  chain,  it  adds  much  to  the 
chance  of  the  faulty  one's  escaping  observation. 

It  must  not  be  expected  that  reason  will  universally  make 
its  way.  ^^  3Iedicamenta,"  says  the  medical  aphorism, 
^^  nan  agunt  ineadaver."  Those  in  whom  indolence  is  com- 
bined with  pride,  will  be  induced,  by  the  one,  to  remain  in 
their  position,  and,  by  the  other,  to  fortify  it  as  well  as  they 
can. 

A  safe  man,  in  the  estimation  of  most  people,  is  one,  not 
whose  views  are,  on  the  whole,  most  reasonable,  but  one  who 
is  free  from  all  errors  except  vulgar  errors. 

Galileo,  probably,  would  have  escaped  persecution,  if  his 
discoveries  could  have  been  dfeproved,  and  his  reasonings 
refuted. 

A  crude  theory,  in  the  language  of  some  men,  means  one, 
which  (being  new)  has  not  first  occurred  to  themselves. 

A  superfluous  truism  to  one  person,  may  be  a  revolting 
paradox  to  another. 

An  incorrect  analogy,  constantly  before  us,  is  like  a  dis- 
torted mirror  in  the  apartment  we  inhabit,  producing  a  fixed 


154  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTHEOMS. 

and  habitual  false  impression.  Such  a  familiar,  seeming 
analogy  between  the  several  professions,  has  led  men  to  feel, 
rather  than  distinctly  maintain,  that  as  they  confide  the 
care  of  their  bodily  health  to  the  physician,  and  of  their  legal 
transactions  to  the  lawyer,  so  they  may  commit  to  a  distinct 
order  of  men,  the  care  of  their  religious  concerns,  and  serve 
God  by  proxy. 

Man,  except  when  unusually  depraved,  retains  enough  of 
the  image  of  his  Maker  to  have  a  natural  reverence  for  reli- 
gion,  and  a  desire  that  God  should  be  worshipped ;  but 
through  the  corruption  of  his  nature,  his  heart  is  (except 
when  divinely  purified)  too  much  alienated  from  God  to  take 
delight  in  serving  Him.  Hence,  the  disposition  men  have 
ever  shown  to  substitute  the  devotion  of  the  priest  for  their 
own:  —  to  leave  the  duties  of  piety  in  his  hands,  and  to  let 
him  serve  God  in  their  stead.  This  disposition  is  not  so 
much  the  consequence,  as  itself  the  origin,  of  priest-craft. 

The  frequency  with  which  we  hear  profane  discourse,  intem- 
perance, or  devotedness  to  frivolous  amusements,  character- 
ized as  "unbecoming  a  clergyman,"  in  a  sort  of  tone  which 
implies  the  speaker's  feeling  to  be,  that  they  are  unbecoming 
merely  to  a  clergyman,  not  to  a  Christian,  is  a  proof  of  the 
general  tendency  to  vicarious  religion,  which  makes  men, 
who  take  little  care  to  keep  their  own  lights  burning,  desii'ous 
to  have  one  to  whom  they  may  apply  in  their  extremity, 
"Give  us  of  your  oil,  for  our  lamps  arc  going  out." 

An  exemplary  character,  according  to  the  notions  of  some, 
is  one  whose  example  no  one  is  expected  to  follow. 

To  trace  any  error  to  its  source,  will  often  throw  more 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  155 

light  on  the  subject  in  hand,  than  can  be  obtained,  if  -wo  rest 
satisfied  with  merely  detecting  and  refuting  it. 

INIen  delight  in  everything  peculiar,  whether  an  advantage 
or  not. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  man  labours  well  in  his  minor  depart- 
ment, unless  he  overrates  it.  It  is  lucky  for  us,  that  the  bee 
does  not  look  upon  the  honeycomb  in  the  same  light  we  do. 

That  is  suitable  to  a  man  in  point  of  ornamental  expense, 
not  Avhich  he  can  afi'ord  to  have,  but  which  he  can  afford  to 
lose. 

Never  let  a  confidence  be  forced  upon  you. 

Hard  labour  is  not  whenever  you  are  very  actively  em- 
ployed, but  when  you  must  be. 

To  be  always  thinking  about  your  manners,  is  not  the  way 
to  make  them  good ;  because  the  very  perfection  of  manners 
is  not  to  think  about  yourself. 

The  love  of  admiration  leads  to  fraud,  much  more  than  the 
love  of  commendation ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  latter  is 
much  more  likely  to  spoil  our  good  actions  by  the  substitution 
of  an  inferior  motive. 

The  tendency  of  the  love  of  commendation  is  to  make  a 
man  exert  himself;  of  the  love  of  admiration,  to  make  him 
pii-ff  himself. 

If  a  man  is  content  -with  the  opinion  of  virtue  or  ability, 
he  seems  manifestly  prizing  a  mere  shadow,  and  we  exclaim 


156  MISeELLAVEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

against  such  pure  vanity  ;  but  if  a  person  can  be  universally 
and  constantly  believed  to  possess  beauty,  or  a  fine  ring,  he 
has  all  that  the  actual  possession  of  them  could  confer ;  you 
cannot  therefore  so  well  blame  a  person  for  pursuing  a 
shadow,  in  a  case  where  the  substance  is  valued  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  shadow. 

As  one  of  the  earliest  dawning,  and  most  important, 
differences  between  individuals  is  the  degree  and  manner  in 
wliich  they  desire  approbation,  so  it  is  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing in  their  respective  behaviours.  As  with  children,  some 
are  anxious  to  attract  notice,  and  wanting  you  to  observe 
them  when  playing,  while  another  even  of  the  same  family  is 
quite  independent,  and  satisfied  in  solitude :  so  also  with 
grown  persons ;  one  man  is  considering  at  every  step  what 
people  think  of  him ;  the  other,  comparatively,  concerns 
himself  little  about  it :  the  one  speaks  as  if  he  wanted  to 
say  something  —  the  other  as  if  he  had  something  to  say. 
The  manner  generated  by  the  former  habit,  has  been,  aptly 
enough,  called  conscious,  which  perfectly  accords  with  Adam 
Smith's  account  of  conscience  ;  viz.,  the  judgment  which  we 
pronounce  on  our  own  conduct  by  putting  ourselves  in  the 
place  of  a  by-stander. 

While  we  are  taking  pains  with  our  morals,  we  are  taking 
pains  Avith  that  which  is  the  most  important ;  when  about 
manners,  we  are  attending  to  the  surface,  instead  of  the  sub- 
stance. Take  care  of  the  digestion  and  circulation,  if  you 
would  keep  them  sound ;  if  you  would  keep  the  skin  clear, 
take  care  (not  of  the  skin,  but)  of  the  digestion  and  circu- 
lation. 

lie  will  please  most  who  is  aiming,  not  to  please,  but  to 
give  jyleasurc. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  157 

It  is  remarkable  that  great  affectation,  and  great  absence  of 
it  (unconsciousness),  are  a-t  first  sight  very  similar ;  —  they 
are  both  apt  to  produce  singularity. 

Though  many  conscious  people  are  very  agreeable,  there 
is  a  charm  in  unconscious  manners,  which  endears  a  person, 
even  Avhen  there  is  nothing  else  very  remarkable  in  him. 
Social  intercourse  is  in  itself  a  pleasure,  independent  of  the 
instruction  or  entertainment  we  may  derive  from  the  matter 
and  language ;  else  books  would  be,  which  they  are  not,  a 
complete  substitute  for  society :  hence  it  appears,  that  the 
essence  of  social  intercourse  is  the  interchange  of  ideas,  as 
they  arise  actually  in  the  minds  of  the  speakers ;  the  excel- 
lence of  it,  therefore,  in  social  intercourse,  must  consist  in 
complete  unconsciousness ;  the  further  you  recede  from  that, 
(and  there  are  infinite  degrees),  however  clever  your  conver- 
sation, the  less  have  you  of  the  nature  of  a  companion,  and 
the  more  of  a  book ;  consequently  Consciousness  is,  as  it 
were,  the  specific  poison  of  that  which  is  the  very  essence 
of  conversation.  All  disregard  of  self  also  is  so  amiable, 
that  unconsciousness  seems  to  be  almost  a  virtue.  In  the 
pulpit,  it  is  quite :  an  ambassador  from  heaven  should  not 
dare  to  be  thinking  of  himself,  and  trying  to  be  a  fine  man, 
when  he  should  only  be  thinking  of  his  message.  How 
would  the  practice  of  this  virtue,  Avith  singleness  of  heart,  by 
the  clergy,  increase  the  effect  produced  by  them ! 

A  student  of  mathematics,  after  having  gone  through,  and 
seemingly  understood,  Euclid's  proof,  that  the  squares  of  the 
sides  containing  a  right  angle,  are  equal  to  the  square  of  the 
side,  subtending  it,  remarked,  to  the  astonishment  and  dis- 
may of  his  teacher,  "IJ^t  it  is  not  really  so,  is  it,  Sir?" 
Many,  who  would  laugh  at  this  query,  might  yet  be  found 
14 


158  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTIIEGMS. 

assenting  to  all  the  reasoning  on  which  some  political  or  other 
measure  should  he  maintained,  and  then  coolly  remarking, 
that  it  is  practically  false,  though  theoretically  true:  or, 
themselves  maintaining  some  principles  of  moral  conduct, 
■which  yet,  they  consider  themselves  as  not  bound  to  exem- 
plify in  their  own  practice,  though  they  may  be  very  suitable 
to  a  moral  tale.  And  in  proportion  as  men  are  accustomed 
(much  more,  children)  to  contemplate  and  admire  virtue, 
without  being  tauglit,  by  example  or  otherwise,  that  they  are 
expected  to  realize  the  picture,  they  will  become  the  less 
fitted  for  the  actual  performance  of  their  duties. 

A  large  volume  might  be  composed  of  moral  apophthegms 
which  are  commonly  uttered,  and  readily  admitted,  but 
which  were  never  practically  believed  by  any  one. 

Men's  moral  maxims,  in  general,  are,  like  Peter  Pindar's 
razors,  made  not  to  shave,  but  to  sell. 

Ethical  maxims  are  bandied  about  as  a  sort  of  current  coin 
of  discourse,  and  being  never  melted  down  for  use,  those 
that  are  of  base  metal  are  never  detected. 

The  charity  of  some  persons  consists  in  proceeding  on  the 
supposition,  that  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  an  injury  is  to 
cherish  implacable  resentment,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to 
forgive,  except  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  forgiven.  It  is 
obvious  that  these  notions  render  nugatory  the  gospel  pre- 
cepts. AVhy  should  we  be  called  upon  to  render  good  for 
evil,  if  we  are  bound  always  to  explain  away  that  evil,  and 
call  it  good  ?  "Whcra  there  is  manifestly  just  ground  for 
complaint,  we  should  accustom  ourselves  to  say,  "  Tliat  man 
owes  me  an  hundred  pence  !"  Thus,  at  once  recalling  to 
our  mind  the  j)arablc    of  him  who  rigoi'ously  enforced  his 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  150 

own  claims,  "wlicn  he  had  been  forgiven  a  debt  of  ten  thou- 
sand talents. 

To  dwell  upon  the  faults  of  a  parent  or  a  friend,  or  even 
a  stranger,  is  wrong ;  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  per- 
ceive and  acknowledge  them ;  for,  if  we  think  ourselves 
bound  to  vindicate  them  in  another,  we  shall  not  be  very 
likely  to  condemn  them  in  ourselves.  Self-love  will,  most 
likely,  demand  fair  play,  and  urge  that  what  is  right  in  another 
is  not  Avrong  in  us ;  and  thus  we  shall  have  been  perverting 
our  own  principles  of  morality. 

Most  precepts  that  are  given  are  so  general  that  they 
cannot  be  applied,  except  by  an  exercise  of  just  as  much  dis- 
cretion as  would  be  sufficient  to  frame  them. 

Most  men  will  agree  that  practice  without  principle,  or 
vice  versd,  is  not  enough ;  but  they  can  seldom  understand, 
that  when  both  are  right,  something  more  may  yet  be,  and 
often  is,  wanting ;  viz.,  that  the  practice  should  spring  from 
the  principle. 

Any  Christian  minister  who  should  confine  himself  to  what 
are  sometimes  (erroneously)  called  "jiractical  sermons,"  — 
^.  c,  mere  moral  essays,  Avithout  any  mention  of  the  peculiar 
doctrines  of  Chi-istianity, — is  in  the  same  condition  with  the 
heathen  philosophers,  with  this  difference,  that  what  was 
their  misfortune  is  \as  fault. 

It  is  too  generally  true,  that  all  that  is  required  to  make 
men  unmindful  what  they  owe  to  God  for  any  blessing,  is, 
that  they  should  receive  that  blessing  often  enough,  and 
regularly  enough. 


IGO  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

Early  and  long  familiarity  is  apt  to  generate  a  careless, — 
I  might  almost  say,  a  stupid,  indifference  to  many  objects, 
•which,  if  new  to  us,  would  excite  a  great  and  a  just  admira- 
tion :  and  many  are  inclined  even  to  hold  cheap  a  stranger, 
who  expresses  wonder  at  Avhat  seems  to  us  very  natural  and 
simple,  merely  because  we  have  been  used  to  it,  while,  in 
fact,  perhaps,  our  apathy  is  a  more  just  subject  of  contempt 
than  his  astonishment. 

The  liability  to  mistake  for  the  wisdom  of  man,  that  which 
is  in  truth  the  Avisdom  of  God,  is  manifested  in  nothing,  per- 
haps, more  than  in  overlooking  the  evidences  of  the  Divine 
wisdom  in  the  provisions  made  for  the  progress  of  society. 
In  the  bodily  structure  of  man,  and  in  the  result  of  instinct 
in  brutes,  we  plainly  perceive  innumerable  marks  of  wise 
contrivance,  in  which  it  is  plain  that  man  and  the  brute  can 
have  had  no  share.  But  when  human  conduct  tends  to  some 
desirable  end,  and  when  the  agents  are  competent  to  perceive 
that  the  end  is  desirable,  and  the  means  well  adapted  to  it, 
we  are  apt  to  forget  that  those  m.cans  Avere  not  devised,  nor 
those  ends  proposed,  by  the  persons  themselves  Avho  are 
employed.  For  instance,  let  any  one  propose  to  himself  the 
problem  of  supplying  with  daily  provisions  the  inhabitants 
of  such  a  city  as  London,  —  that  "province  covered  with 
houses."  Let  any  one  consider  this  problem  in  all  its  bear- 
ings, —  reflecting  on  the  enormous  and  fluctuating  number  of 
persons  to  be  fed,  the  immense  quantity,  and  the  variety,  of 
the  provisions  to  be  furnished,  the  importance  of  a  conve- 
nient distribution  of  them,  and  the  necessity  of  husbanding 
them  discreetly,  lest  a  deficient  supply,  even  for  a  single  day, 
should  produce  distress,  or  a  redundancy,  from  the  perishable 
nature  of  many  of  them,  produce  a  corresponding  Avaste  ;  and 
then,  let  him  reflect  on  the  anxious  toil  Avhich  such  a  task 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  161 

TFOuld  impose  on  a  Board  of  the. most  experienced  and  intel- 
ligent commissaries,  who,  after  all,  would  be  able  to  discharge 
their  office  but  verj  inadequately.  Yet  this  object  is  accom- 
plished far  better  than  it  could  be  bj  any  effort  of  human 
wisdom,  through  the  agency  of  men,  who  think  each  of 
nothing  beyond  his  own  immediate  interest, — who,  with  that 
object  in  view,  perform  their  respective  parts  with  cheerful 
zeal,  —  and  combine  unconsciously  to  employ  the  Avisest 
means  for  effecting  an  object,  the  vastness  of  which  it  would 
bcAvilder  them  even  to  contemplate.  Can  any  of  the  admira- 
ble marks  of  contrivance  and  design,  in  the  anatomical 
structure  of  the  human  body,  and  in  the  instincts  of  the 
brute  creation,  be  more  admirable  than  that  beneficent  wis- 
dom of  Providence,  by  which  not  corporeal  particles,  but 
rational  free  agents,  co-operate  in  systems  no  less  manifestly 
indicating  design,  —  yet  no  design  of  theirs ;  and  though 
acted  on,  not  by  gravitation  and  impulse,  like  inert  matter, 
but  by  motives  addressed  to  the  will,  yet  advance  as  regularly 
and  as  effectually  the  accomplishment  of  an  object  they  never 
contemplated,  as  if  they  were  merely  the  passive  wheels  of  a 
machine. 

Human  conduct  with  regard  to  knowledge,  furnishes  an 
instance,  as  far  as  respects  the  object  not  being  contemplated 
by  the  agent,  of  a  procedure  precisely  analogous  to  that  of 
instinct.  Knowledge  would  not  have  made  the  advances  it 
has  made,  if  it  had  been  promoted  only  by  persons  influenced 
by  pure  public  spirit.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  the  gift,  not 
of  human,  but  of  Divine  benevolence,  which  has  implanted 
in  man  a  thirst  after  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  accom- 
panied with  a  sort  of  instinctive  desire,  founded  probably  on 
sympathy,  of  communicating  it  to  others  as  an  ultimate  end. 
14* 


1C2  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTIIECM?. 

It  is  now  generally  acknowledged  tliat  relief  afforded  to 
■want,  as  mere  want,  tends  to  increase  that  want ;  while  the 
relief  afforded  to  the  sick,  the  infirm,  and  the  disabled,  has 
plainly  no  tendency  to  multiply  its  own  objects.  Now  it  is 
remarkable,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  employed  llis  miraculous 
power  in  healing  the  sick  continuallij,  ..but  in  feeding  the 
hungry  only  twice ;  while  the  power  of  multiplying  food 
which  He  then  manifested,  as  Avell  as  His  directing  the  dis- 
ciples to  take  care  and  gather  up  the  fragments  that  re- 
mained that  nothing  might  be  lost,  served  to  mark  that  the 
abstaining  from  any  like  procedure  on  other  occasions  was 
deliberate  design.  In  this,  besides  other  objects,  our  Lord 
had  probably  in  view  to  afford  us  some  instruction,  from  his 
example,  as  to  the  mode  of  our  charity.  Certain  it  is,  that 
the  reasons  for  this  distinction  are  now,  and  ever  must  be, 
the  same  as  at  that  time.  Now  to  those  engaged  in  that 
important  and  inexhaustible  subject  of  enquiry,  the  internal 
evidences  of  Christianity,  it  will  be  interesting  to  observe 
here,  one  of  the  instances  in  which  the  super-human  Avisdom 
of  Jesus  forestalled  the  discovery  of  an  important  principle, 
often  overlooked,  not  only  by  the  generality  of  men,  but  by 
the  most  experienced  statesmen  and  the  ablest  philosophers, 
even  in  these  later  ages  of  extended  human  knowledge,  and 
development  of  mental  power. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  points  in 
Natural  Theology  is,  the  combination  of  physical  laws  with 
instincts  adapted  to  them.  One  instance,  out  of  many,  of 
this  principle,  may  be  taken  as  a  sample,  —  that  of  the 
instinct  of  suction,  as  connected  with  the  whole  process  of 
rearing  young  animals.  The  calf  sucks,  and  its  mother 
equally  desires  to  be  disburthened  of  its  milk.  Thus  tlicre 
are  two  instincts  tending  the  same  way.     Moreover,  the  calf 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  163 

has  an  appetite  for  grass  also;  it  takes  hold  of  the  grass, 
chews  and  swallows  it ;  but  it  does  not  bite  but  sucks  the 
teat.  But  it  is  also  necessary  that  there  should  be  a  physi- 
cal adaptation  of  the  atmosphere  to  the  instinct  of  the  animal. 
It  is  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  upon  the  part,  and  the  . 
withdrawal  of  that  -pressure  within  the  young  animal's  mouth, 
which  forces  out  the  milk.  Here  is  an  adaptation  of  instinct 
to  the  physical  constitution  of  the  atmosphere.  Yet  again, 
all  this  would  be  insufficient  without  the  addition  of  that 
st07-ge,  or  instinctive  parental  affection,  which  leads  the  dam 
carefully  to  watch  and  defend  its  young.  The  most  timid 
animals  are  ready  to  risk  their  lives,  and  undergo  any  hard- 
ships, to  protect  their  young,  which  is  a  feeling  quite  dis- 
tinct from  the  gratification  felt  by  the  dam  from  her  offspring 
drawing  her  milk.  Here,  then,  are  several  instincts,  and 
the  adaptation  of  the  atmosphere  to  one  of  those  instincts, 
all  combining  towards  the  preservation  of  the  species  ;  which 
form,  in  conjunction,  as  clear  an  indication  of  design  as 
can  be  conceived.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  any 
plainer  mark  of  design,  unless  a  person  were  beforehand  to 
say  that  ho  intended  to  do  a  certain  thing.  Yet  this  is  not 
all ;  for  the  secretion  of  milk  is  not  common  to  both  sexes, 
and  all  ages,  and  all  times.  Here  is  the  secretion  of  milk 
at  a  particular  time,  just  corresponding  with  the  need  for  it. 
If  we  found  sickles  produced  at  harvest,  fires  lighted  wdicn 
the  weather  is  cold,  and  sails  spread  when  favourable  winds 
blow,  we  should  see  clearly  that  these  things  were  designed 
to  effect  a  certain  end  or  object.  Now,  in  the  case  of  the 
mother  and  the  young,  there  is  a  secretion  of  milk  at  a  par- 
ticular period,  and  in  an  animal  of  a  distinct  sex  —  the  one 
which  has  given  birth  to  the  young.  Yet  the  perpetuation 
of  the  species  might  take  place  if  the  milk  had  been  provided 
so  as  to  be  constant  in  all  a2;cs  and  sexes.     But  what  we  do 


164  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

see  is,  means  provided  for  an  end,  and  just  commensurate  to 
that  end. 

To  perceive  a  reason  for  anything  that  God  has  done  is 
far  difierent  from  perceiving  the  reason. 

A  fool  can  ask  more  questions  than  a  "\>ise  man  can 
answer ;  but  a  wise  man  cannot  ask  more  questions  than  he 
•will  find  a  fool  ready  to  answer. 

It  usually  requires  that  a  man  should  have  some  confidence 
in  his  own  understanding  to  venture  to  say,  "  What  has  been 
spoken  is  unintelligible  to  me." 

lie  that  is  not  aware  of  his  ignorance,  will  be  only  misled 
by  his  knowledge. 

Young  students  should  remember,  that  by  a  confession  of 
real  ignorance  must  real  knowledge  be  gained ;  and  even 
when  that  further  knowledge  is  not  gained,  still  even  the 
knowledge  of  the  ignorance  is  a  great  thing  in  itself,  —  so 
great,  it  seems,  as  to  have  constituted  Socrates  the  wisest  of 
his  time. 

Some  of  the  chief  sources  of  imhnown  ignorance  are  to 
be  found  in  our  not  being  aware,  1.  How  inadequate  a 
medium  language  is  for  conveying  thought.  2.  How  inade- 
quate our  very  minds  are  for  the  comprehension  of  many 
things.  3.  How  little  we  need  understand  a  word  which  may 
yet  be  familiar  to  us,  and  which  we  may  use  in  reasoning. 
This  piece  of  ignorance  is  closely  connected  with  the  two 
foregoing.  (Hence,  lre([uently  men  will  accept  as  an  expla- 
nation of  a  phenomenon,  a  mere  statement  of  the  difficulty 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  165 

in  other  words.)     4,  How  utterly  ignorant  we  are  of  efficient 
causes  ;  and  how  the  philosopher  who  refers  to  the  law  of 
gravitation  the  falling  of  a  stone  to  the  earth,  no  further  ex- 
plains the  phenomenon  than  the  peasant,  who  would  say  it  is 
the  nature  of  it.     The  philosopher   knows    that  the    stone 
obeys  the  same  law  to  which  all  other  bodies  are  subject,  and 
to  which,  for  convenience,  he  gives  the  name  of  gravitation. 
His    knowledge    is    only  more  general  than    the   peasant's, 
which,  however,  is  a  vast  advantage.     5.   Hoav  many  words 
there  are  that  express,  not  the  nature  of  the  things  they  are 
applied  to,  but  the    manner  in  which    they  affect  us:  and 
which    therefore    give    about    as  correct  a  notion    of  those 
things,  as  the  word  "crooked"  would  if  applied  to  a  stick 
half  immersed  in  water.     (Such  is  the  word  chance,  with  all 
its  family.)     6.  IIow  many  causes  may  and  usually  do,  con- 
duce to  the  same  effect.     7.  How  liable  the  faculties,  even 
of  the  ablest,  are  to  occasional  failure ;  so  that  they  shall 
overlook  mistakes  (and  those  often  the  most  at  variance  with 
their  own  established  notions)  which,  wheii  once  exposed  seem 
quite  gross  even  to   inferior  men.     8.  How  much   all  are 
biassed,  in  all  their  moral  reasonings,  by  self-love,  or  per- 
haps, rather,  partiality  to  human  nature  and  other  passions. 
0.    Dugald   Stewart  would  add   very  justly.   How  little  Ave 
know  of  matter ;  no  more  indeed  than  of  mind;  though  all 
are  prone  to  attempt  explaining  the  ishenomena  of  mind  by 
those  of  matter:  for  what  \& familiar  men  generally  consider 
as  tvell  known,  though  the  fact  is  oftener  otherwise.     The 
errors  arising  from  these  causes,  from  not  calculating  on 
them,  —  that  is,  in  short,  from  ignorance  of  our  own  igno- 
rance, have    probably    impeded    philosophy  more    than    all 
other  obstacles  put  together. 

"A  little  learning"  is    then  only  (and  then    always)  "a 
dangerous  thing,"  when  we  are  not  aware  of  its  littleness. 


IGG  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

"A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  and  yet  it  is 
■\vliat  all  must  attain  before  they  can  arrive  at  great  learn- 
ing ;  it  is  the  utmost  acquisition  of  those  who  know  the  most, 
in  comparison  of  what  they  do  not  know.  The  field  of 
science  may  be  compared  to  an  American  forest,  in  which 
the  more  trees  a  man  cuts  down,  the  greater  is  the  expanse 
of  wood  he  sees  around  him. 

An  error  in  physics  and  science  is  nothing  so  long  as  it  is 
not  taught  as  a  part  of  religion.  If  taught  as  such,  it  be- 
comes a  lever  placed  underneath  a  man's  religious  principles, 
which  will  heave  up  and  overthrow  them  ;  for  as  soon  as  he 
discovers  it  to  he  error,  he  thinks  he  has  got  a  demonstration 
of  the  falsity  of  the  revelation,  of  which  he  has  been  told  it 
is  a  part. 

It  is  not  over-education,  but  misdirected  education,  that  ia 
to  be  deprecated. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  to  educate  the  children  of  the 
poor  disqualifies  them  for  an  humble  and  laborious  station  in 
life,  —  and  it  is  indeed  possible  so  to  educate  children  as  to 
unfit  them  for  it :  but  this  mistake  docs  not  so  much  consist 
in  the  amount  of  the  knowledge  imparted,  as  in  the  kind 
and  the  manner  of  education.  Habits  early  engrafted  on 
children,  of  regular  attention,  —  of  steady  application  to 
what  they  are  about, — of  prompt  obedience  to  the  directions 
they  receive, — of  cleanliness,  order,  and  decent  and  modest 
behaviour,  cannot  but  be  of  advantage  to  them  in  after  life, 
whatever  their  station  may  be.  And  certainly,  their  familiar 
acquaintance  with  the  precepts  and  example  f)f  Ilim  who, 
when  all  stations  of  life  were  at  His  command,  chose  to  be 
the  reputed  son  of  a  poor  mechanic,  and  to  live  with  peasants 


MISCELLANEOUS    AP0I'IITIIE(3MS.  167 

and  fishermen ;  or,  again,  of  His  apostle  Paul,  wliosc  own 
hands  ministered  to  his  necessities,  and  to  those  of  his  com- 
panions :  such  studies,  I  sa}'',  can  surely  never  tend  to  unfit 
any  one  for  a  life  of  humble  and  contented  industry. 

The  dangers  of  knowledge  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  dangers  of  ignorance.  Man  is  more  likely  to  miss  his 
way  in  darkness  than  in  twilight;  in  twilight  than  in  full 
sun. 

While  the  pedantry  of  learning  and  science  has  often  been 
dwelt  upon,  and  deservedly  ridiculed,  there  is  another  danger 
on  the  opposite  side,  which  is  rarely,  if  ever,  mentioned ;  yet 
it  is  a  folly  quite  as  great  as  the  other ;  of  a  yet  more  in- 
tolerable character,  and  still  more  hojjcless.  —  I  mean  what 
may  be  called  "  the  pedantry  of  common-sense  and  expe- 
rience." For  one  person  who  is  overbearing  you  on  account 
of  his  knowledge  of  technical  terms,  you  will  find  five  or 
six,  still  more  provokingly  impertinent,  with  their  common- 
sense  and  experience.  Their  common-sense  will  be  found 
nothing  more  than  common  prejudice ;  and  their  experience 
will  be  found  to  consist  in  the  fact  that  they  have  done  a 
thing  wrong  very  often,  and  fancy  they  have  done  it  right. 
In  former  times,  men  knew  by  experience  that  the  earth 
stands  still,  and  the  sun  rises  and  sets.  Common-sense 
taught  them  that  there  could  be  no  antipodes  ;  since  men 
could  not  stand  with  their  heads  downwards,  like  flies  on  the 
ceiling.  Experience  taught  the  King  of  Bantam  that  Avater 
could  not  become  solid.  And  the  experience  and  common- 
sense  of  one  of  the  most  observant  and  intelligent  of  his- 
torians, Tacitus,  convinced  him  that  for  a  mixed  government 
to  be  so  framed  as  to  combine  the  elements  of  royalty,  aris- 
tocracy, and  democracy,  must  be  next  to  impossible,  and  that 


168  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

if  such  a  one  could  be  framed,  it  must  inevitably  be  very 
speedily  dissolved. 

Since  the  sailor,  the  physician,  and  every  other  practi- 
tioner, each  in  his  own  department,  gives  the  preference  to 
unassisted  common-sense  only  in  those  cases  -where  he  him- 
self has  nothing  else  to  trust  to,  and  invariably  resorts  to 
the  rules  of  art  wherever  he  possesses  the  knowledge  of  them, 
it  is  plain  that  mankind  universally  bear  their  testimony, 
though  unconsciously  and  often  unwillingly,  that  systematic 
knowledge  is  preferable  to  conjectural  judgments,  and  that 
common-sense  is  only  our  second  best  cjuuJe. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  some  gentleman,  who,  on  being  asked 
whether  he  could  play  on  the  violin,  made  answer  that  he 
really  did  not  know  whether  he  could  or  not,  because  he  had 
never  tried.  There  is  at  least  more  modesty  in  this  expres- 
sion of  doubt,  than  those  show  who  discuss,  with  the  most 
unhesitating  confidence,  the  most  difficult  questions  of  Po- 
litical Economy,  while  not  only  ignorant,  but  professedly 
ignorant,  and  designing  to  continue  so,  of  the  whole  subject ; 
neither  having,  nor  pretending  to  have,  nor  wishing  for,  any 
fixed  principles  by  which  to  regulate  their  judgment  on  each 
point.  And  this  glaring  absurdity  they  conceal  from  them- 
selves, and  from  each  other,  by  keeping  clear  of  the  title  by 
Avhicli  the  science  is  commonly  designated,  while  the  subjects 
which  constitute  the  proper  and  sole  province  of  that  science, 
they  do  not  scruple  to  submit  to  extemporaneous  discussion. 
Decisions  on  questions  concerning  taxation,  tithes,  the 
national  debt,  the  poor-laws,  the  wages  which  labourers  earn, 
or  ought  to  earn,  the  comparative  advantages  of  different 
modes  of  ch.irily,  and  numberless  others,  are  boldly  pro- 
nounced, by  many  who  utterly  disclaim  having  turned  their 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  169 

attention  to  Political  Economy.  This  is  as  if  the  gentleman 
in  the  story  just  alluded  to,  had  declared  his  inability  to  play 
on  the  violin,  at  the  same  time  expressing  his  confidence  that 
he  could  play  on  the  fiddle. 

Those  who  are  too  lazy  to  take  the  pains  of  acquiring 
accurate  knowledge  on  some  point  on  which  they  are  igno- 
rant, and,  at  the  same  time,  too  proud  to  own  their  igno- 
rance, shelter  themselves  under  the  convenient  plea  of  being 
adherents  of  common-sense,  and  decry  speculative  doctrines, 
which  would  be  pernicious  in  practice.  The  censure  may,  in 
some  instances,  chance  to  be  right ;  and  so,  perhaps,  might 
the  grapes  in  the  fable  have  been  really  sour  —  but  the  fox 
would  have  had  a  better  right  to  pronounce  upon  them  if  he 
had  first  contrived  to  taste  them.  In  fact,  every  theory 
which  fails  in  practice,  must,  if  duly  examined,  be  found  to 
contain  some  flaw  in  principle ;  and  the  wiser  and  more 
effectual  (though  not  the  least  laborious)  procedure,  is,  to 
detect  its  errors,  and  to  condemn  it,  not  for  being  a  theory, 
but  for  being  an  unsound  one.  Common-sense  (at  least  the 
most  common  sort  of  it)  seems  to  be  little  better  than  the 
offspring  of  pride  and  indolence. 

Men  are  often  misled  by  resting  on  the  authority  of  Expe- 
rience. Not  that  experience  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  have 
great  weight,  but  that  men  are  apt  not  to  consider  with  suffi- 
cient attention  what  it  is  that  constitutes  Experience  in  each 
point ;  and  therefore  need  to  be  warned,  first,  that  time  alone 
does  not  constitute  Experience  ;  so  that  many  years  may  have 
passed  over  a  man's  head,  without  his  even  having  had  the 
same  opportunities  of  acquiring  it  as  another  much  younger. 
Secondly,  that  the  longest  practice  in  conducting  any  busi- 
ness in  one  way,  docs  not  necessarily  confer  any  Experience 
15 


170  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

in  conducting  it  in  a  different  way;  e.  g.,  an  experienced 
husbandman,  or  minister  of  state  in  Persia,  -would  be  much 
at  a  loss  in  Europe.  And,  thirdly,  that  merely  being  con- 
versant about  a  certain  class  of  subjects,  does  not  confer 
Experience  in  a  case  ■where  the  operations,  and  the  end  pro- 
posed, are  different ;  as  if  a  man  had  dealt  largely  in  corn  all 
his  life  who  had  never  seen  a  field  of  wheat  growing ;  this 
man  would  doubtless  have  acquired  by  experience  an  accu- 
rate judgment  of  the  qualities  of  each  description  of  corn, — 
of  the  best  methods  of  storing  it, — of  the  arts  of  buying  and 
selling  it  at  proper  times,  kc. ;  but  he  would  have  been 
greatly  at  a  loss  in  its  cultivation,  though  he  had  been,  in  a 
certain  way,  long  conversant  about  corn.  So  the  experience 
of  practical  men,  which  is  often  appealed  to  in  opposition  to 
those  who  are  called  theoi'ists,  will  be  sometimes  found  on  an 
attentive  examination  to  be,  in  fact,  the  results  of  a  more 
confined  instead  of  a  wider  experience,  or  to  consist  in  their 
having  for  a  long  time  gone  on  in  a  certain  beaten  track, 
from  which  they  never  tried,  or  witnessed,  or  even  imagined, 
a  deviation.  It  may  be  added,  that  there  is  a  proverbial 
maxim  which  bears  witness  to  the  advantage  sometimes  pos- 
sessed by  an  obversant  by-stander  over  those  actually  en- 
gaged in  any  transaction,  "  The  looker-on  often  sees  more 
of  the  game  than  the  players.  Now  the  looker-on  is  pre- 
cisely (in  Greek  dfwpog)  the  theorist." 

Common  notions  arc  not  necessarily  common-sense. 

The  great  discrepancy  in  the  results  of  Avhat  are  called 
3<lxperience  and  Common-sense,  as  contradistinguished  fiom 
theory,  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact,  tliat  men  are  so  formed 
as  often  unconsciously  to  reason,  whether  well  or  ill,  on  the 
phenomena  they  observe,  and  to  mix  up  their  inferences  with 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  171 

their  statements  of  those  phenomena;  so  as  in  fact  to  theo- 
rize (however  scantily  or  crudely)  without  kno"\ving  it.  Hence 
it  is  that  several  different  men,  who  have  all  had  equal,  or 
even  the  very  same,  experience,  i.  e.,  have  been  witnesses  or 
agents  in  the  same  transactions,  will  often  be  found  to 
resemble  so  many  different  men  looking  at  the  same  book : 
the  object  that  strikes  the  eye  is  to  all  the  same ;  the  differ- 
ence of  the  impressions  produced  on  the  mind  of  each  is 
referable  to  the  difference  in  their  minds,  and  proportionate 
to  the  different  degrees  of  their  knowledge  of  the  characters, 
the  language,  and  the  subject. 

Most,  if  not  all,  who  attain  to  a  certain  point  of  intellec- 
tual excellence  have  passed  through  two  previous  stages. 
The  first  is,  that  in  which  a  man  judges  from  obvious 
external  appearances,  adopts  implicitly  established  notions 
and  practices,  assents  without  inquiry*,  and  sees  without  much 
observation,  or,  at  least,  obs  rves  without  much  ambition  to 
account  for  phenomena. 

In  the  second  stage,  he  eagerly  examines,  and  endeavours 
to  account  for,  everything ;  instead  of  being  content  Avith 
ignorance,  he  thinks  his  capacities  equal  to  everything ;  he 
hastily  rejects  vulgar  prejudices,  and  ridicules  established 
customs,  and  is  for  altering,  and  reforming,  and  perfecting 
everything.  The  third  state,  which  is  that  of  mature  judg- 
ment and  enlarged  views,  though  the  most  remote  from  the 
first,  yet  practically  reapproaches  to  it :  he  now  perceives  the 
origin  of  many  common  notions  and  practices,  and  the  utility 
even  of  many  which  are  erroneous  ;  he  does  many  things  and 
believes  many  things  in  common  with  the  vulgar,  though  on 
different  grounds ;  he  has  just  that  degree  of  respect  for 
popular  belief  as  neither  to  adopt  nor  reject  it  hastily;  and 
he  discriminates  accurately  Avhere  truth  and  falsehood,  right 


172  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPnTHEGMS. 

and  worng,  are  blended :  he  perceives  the  bonds  of  human 
capacity,  and  attempts  not  to  explain  -what  is  beyond  it ;  he 
perceives  that  many  things  -which  appear  at  first  sight  (or^ 
rather  at  second  sight)  faulty,  are  best  as  they  are;  and  of 
those  alterations  which  are  really  desirable,  he  perceives 
what  are,  and  what  are  not,  attainable.  These  three  states 
may  not  unaptly  be  compared  to  those  of  the  grub,  chrysalis, 
and  butterfly.  The  narrow  views  and  lazy,  implicit  belief 
of  the  first  state,  are  closely  correspondent  to  the  condition 
of  the  crawling  grub,  confined  to  the  plant  on  which  he  was 
hatched,  devouring  it  leaf  after  leaf,  and  minding  nothing 
beyond :  the  chrysalis,  Avrapped  in  a  fine  web  of  his  own 
spinning,  neither  increasing  in  bulk  nor  providing  for  the 
continuance  of  the  species,  and  lost  to  all  useful  purposes, 
except  the  gradual  inward  change  which  is  preparing  him  for 
a  subsequent  development,  is  not  unlike  some  modifications 
of  that  above-mentioned  second  stage  of  intellect ;  in  which 
a  man  is  disgusted  with  common  notions  and  practices,  with- 
out having  yet  formed  a  better  system  of  his  own ;  is  en- 
tangled and  enclosed  in  fine-spun  speculations,  which  with- 
hold him  from  practical  utility,  and  is,  for  a  time,  Avithdrawn 
from  the  world,  in  self-sufficient  and  torpid  retirement.  In 
some,  however,  this  second  stage  assumes  a  more  busy  and 
bustling  character,  and  raises  them  to  a  higher  and  more 
active  condition  than  their  first :  they  take  a  Avider  range 
than  before  ;  they  attain  general  improvement,  and  approach, 
not  only  really  but  visibly,  to  their  last  point  of  perfection ; 
these  correspond  to  that  more  active  chrysalis  state  with  some 
insects,  viz.,  the  gnat,  experience.  The  chrysalis  of  the  gnat, 
instead  of  lying  torpid  or  crawling  at  the  bottom  of  the 
water,  like  the  grub,  darts  about  in  that  element  with  an 
agility,  which  seems  an  obvious  approach  to  the  brisk  and 
airy  range  of  the  finished  insect. 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  173 

The  third  state  of  intellect  —  that  of  the  sound  and  en- 
lightened philosopher  —  is  strikingly  similar  to  that  of  the 
butterfly  and  the  other  various  tribes  of  winged  insects  :  their 
boundless  range  through  the  air ;  the  brilliant  Avings,  especi- 
ally of  the  butterfly ;  its  delicate  diet  of  honey,  and  elegant 
apparatus  for  procuring  it ;  its  light  hovering  from  flower  to 
flower,  with  a  preference,  however,  for  the  plant  which  it 
sprang  from,  and  on  which  it  lays  the  eggs  that  are  to  pro- 
duce a  future  colony  of  creatures  like  itself :  all  correspond 
remarkably  (as  well  as  the  curious  Greek  name  of  ^■jx''i)  ^^'ith 
the  richly-stored  and  cultivated  mind,  the  refined  and  lofty 
pursuits,  the  extensive  range  and  enlarged  views  of  the 
philosopher,  as  also  with  his  partial  return,  though  on  new 
principles  and,  as  it  were,  hovering  on  wings,  to  his  first 
notions  and  practices,  together  with  his  useful  exertions  for 
the  transmission  of  knowledge,  and  enjoyment,  and  for  the 
general  good  of  his  species. 

In  using  the  above  comparison,  which  will  be  found  not 
only  entertaining,  but  extremely  convenient,  in  saving  long 
descriptions  by  a  mere  allusion  to  it,  two  modifications  are 
to  be  kept  in  view ;  —  First,  that  the  changes  from  one  of 
these  states. to  another  are  not  (as  in  the  insect)  entire  and 
complete;  and,  second,  that  they  frequently  never  take  place 
at  all.  Thus  you  will  find,  indeed,  most  frequently,  that  he 
who  is  a  butterfly  in  some  points,  is  in  others  a  chrysalis,  and 
in  some,  perhaps,  still  a  grub,  all  at  the  same  time ;  that 
many  remain  all  their  lives  in  the  chrysalis  state,  and  many 
more  live  and  die  grubs.  They  go  to  church,  &c.,  as  if  there 
was  a  certain  magical  efficacy  in  the  external  forms  of  reli- 
gion ;  they  have  a  blind,  instinctive  veneration  for.,  their 
governors  and  others,  their  superiors ;  adhere  to  the  estab- 
lished order  of  things,  because  it  is  established,  and  perform 
a  certain  routine  of  duties,  because  they  have  been  accustomed 
15* 


174  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTnEQMS. 

to  do  so,  and  have  been  told  that  they  ought ;  these  arc  a 
very  useful  set  of  people,  as  far  as  they  go,  and,  frequently, 
act  and  believe  much  more  wisely  than  they  are  themselves 
aware.  The  chrysalis,  on  the  contrary,  is  often  a  dangerous 
or  useless  animal ;  for  under  this  head  come  all  wanton  inno- 
vators, infidels,  democrats,  projectors,  &c.  Such  also  are 
hermits,  monks,  misanthropes,  sentimentalists,  and  castle- 
builders.  Nothing  indeed  can  be  more  likely  to  lead  to 
absurd  or  mischievous  conclusions,  than  a  want  of  self-dis- 
trust, and  a  disposition  to  reject,  with  indiscriminate  con- 
tempt, whatever  has  a  mixture  of  error  and  imperfection, 
without  perceiving,  selecting,  and  retaining  the  good  which 
is  to  be  found  in  it ;  and  this  is  exactly  the  temper  of  men 
in  the  chrysalis  state, — they  want  candour. 

Children  are  the  to-morrow  of  society. 

If  we  would  but  duly  take  care  of  children,  grown  people 
would  generally  take  care  of  themselves. 

Those  who  discountenance  the  education  of  the  poor  would 
do  well  to  consider  that  it  was  (so  to  speak)  the  great  boast 
of  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith,  that  "  to  the  poor 
the  Gospel  was  preached;"  so  that  if  His  religion  be  not 
really  calculated  for  these.  His  pretensions  must  have  been 
unfounded.  Thus  the  very  truth  of  His  divine  mission  is  at 
issue  on  this  question. 

Any  one  who  says  (with  Mandeville  in  his  treatise  against 
charity-schools),  "If  a  horse  knew  as  much  as  a  man,  I 
should  not  like  to  be  his  rider,"  ought  to  add,  "If  a  man 
knew  as  little  as  a  horse,  I  should  not  like  to  trust  iiini  to 
ride." 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  175 

It  is  not  the  knowledge  of  soiuetJnrig  that  does  harm,  hut 
the  ignorance  of  others.  It  is  not  the  cultivation  of  this 
faculty,  but  the  neglect  of  that.  In  rickety  children,  it  is 
not  that  the  head,  or  the  trunk,  has  grown  too  much,  but 
that  the  limbs  have  not  kept  pace  with  it. 

If  any  of  the  mental  faculties  be  overgrown,  it  is  well  to 
amputate  it,  in  order  to  save  the  rest.  It  should  be  banished 
by  a  kind  of  ostracism,  as  the  best  of  the  Athenian  citizens 
were,  for  the  benefit  of  the  community. 

There  is  a  faculty,  or,  if  you  will,  a  quality  of  the  faculties, 
which  well  deserves  a  distinct  name ;  for  it  is  in  itself  dis- 
tinct ;  i.  e.,  is  not  implied  in  any  other.  It  is  of  great 
practical  value,  and  it  forms  a  striking  feature  in  the  char- 
acter of  those  who  possess  it.  The  word  "  grasp"  has  been 
used  to  express  it ;  perhaps  "Totality"  would  be  the  most 
readily  understood.  But  it  ought  to  have  some  name  gene- 
rally agreed  on.  It  is  the  power  of  taking  in  the  whole  of  a 
subject,  as  a  whole;  of  contemplating  many  things  together 
in  their  mutual  relations ;  of  referring  any  individual  object 
presented  to  the  mind,  to  the  system,  t&c,  with  which  it  is 
connected,  just  as  Cuvier,  from  a  single  fragment  of  a  bone 
can  describe  the  whole  animal :  it  is  a  power,  not  merely  of 
collecting  and  recalling  the  various  parts  of  a  subject,  but 
of  so  arranging  and  combining  them,  as  to  contemplate  a 
single  whole.  This  talent  may  be  compared  to  that  of  a 
general,  in  whom,  perhaps,  the  chief  point  of  skill  is,  not  to 
let  his  troops  fight  in  detail,  but  to  bear  in  his  mind  at  once 
the  situation  of  each  separate  corps,  absent  or  present,  their 
means  of  communication  and  mutual  support,  and  the  hostile 
posts  which  they  may  command  or  be  exposed  to.  There  is, 
perhaps,  no  faculty  so  much  the  gift  of  nature  as  Totality 


176  MISCELLANEOUS   APOrUTHEGMS. 

(or  eusjnopticity  ?)  It  may  be  improved  by  education  ;  but 
■when  it  is  deficient,  all  the  pains  that  can  be  taken  •will  go 
a  less  "way  towards  remedying  that  defect  than  almost  any 
other.  And  persons  of  no  education  at  all,  will  frequently 
possess  it  in  a  high  degree,  though,  of  course,  from  their 
limited  knowledge  and  want  of  cultivation,  they  have  much 
less  opportunity  of  using  and  displaying  it.  It  has  been 
remarked  by  a  very  acute  observer,  that  sometimes  one 
peasant  will  be  struck  with  several  brilliant  passages  in  a 
sermon,  and,  perhaps,  be  able  to  repeat  them,  without  having 
the  least  notion  of  the  general  outline  of  argument ;  while 
another,  though  he  cannot  repeat  a  single  sentence,  will  be 
able  to  give  a  correct  account  of  the  drift  of  the  whole  discourse. 
— For  it  is  not,  in  general,  found  that  this  talent  is  united  with 
a  particularly  quick  perception,  and  ready  recollection  of 
particulars  as  such,  —  though  it  will  enable  its  possessors 
most  wonderfully  to  outdo  those  of  far  better  individual 
memory,  in  the  attainment  and  retention  of  things  which  can 
be  formed  into  a  system,  and,  as  it  were,  tied  together  into 
a  bunch.  In  this  respect  it  is  like  an  ear  for  music,  (which 
indeed  in  its  own  way  may  bo  called  a  species  thereof,)  for  I 
do  not  know  that  those  who  have  an  ear  retain  single  sounds 
better  than  others ;  but  they  are  enabled  to  retain  a  vast 
number,  by  means  of  their  mutual  relation  in  a  tune.  That 
their  remembrance  of  a  tune  is  not  the  collective  remem- 
brance of  the  individual  notes,  but  of  their  mutual  relation, 
is  quite  evident  from  this,  that  if  they  begin  any  tune  in  a 
higher  or  lower  note  than  they  heard  it,  they  will  go  all 
through^  the  same,  and  thus  bring  out  notes  which,  it  is  con- 
ceivable, they  never  heard  in  their  lives. 

This  talent  is  in  all  points  of  view  immensely  important : 
it  constitutes  almost  tlic  Vtliole  excellence  of  some  who  arc 
universally  allowed  to  lie  very  superior  incu ;  whom  ordinary 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  177 

people  would  be  content  to  call  sensible,  able,  judicious, 
clever,  &c.,  without  being  able  to  fix  upon  the  very  circum- 
stance that  constitutes  them  such,  or  to  point  out  any  one 
quality  in  which  they  much  surpass  others.  This  is  the  talent 
ref|uisite,  above  all  others,  to  form  a  politician,  or  any  one 
who  is  concerned  in  any  architectonic  study.  A  person  who 
holds  any  such  leading  office  as  that  of  a  statesman,  &c., 
and  has  not  this  talent,  will  be  so  far  from  turning  to  good 
account  the  other  talents  he  may  possess,  that  they  will  only 
tend  to  make  him  more  mischievous  ;  for  he  will  be  the  better 
able  to  accomplish,  with  skill,  the  petty  and  partial  schemes, 
and  defend  the  narrow  and  short-sighted  measures  to  which 
he  will  inevitably  be  inclined.  The  more  clever  a  man  is,  if 
he  is  not  wise,  (wisdom,  I  think,  expresses,  or  at  least  im- 
plies, that  species  of  totality  which  is  concerned  in  practice,) 
the  more  harm  he  will  do,  even  though  his  intentions  are 
good.  But  if  a  leading  man  possesses  this  talent,  he  will  do 
very  well  without  a  large  portion  of  any  other ;  for  there 
will  be  found  plenty  of  men  capable  of  conducting  the  details 
of  business  with  great  skill,  though  they  have  not  a  particle 
of  totality,  and  are  perhaps  all  the  better  without  it.  A 
good  farmer  may  easily  get  labourers  Avho  can  guide  a  plough 
or  sow  turnips  better  than  himself,  whereas  one  who  is  ever 
so  skilful  in  these  operations  may  manage  the  farm  very  ill. 
Those  who  do  not  possess  this  faculty  will  sometimes 
admire  those  who  do,  Avithout  Avell  knowing  why  :  but  gene- 
rally they  underrate  them,  unless  they  also  excel  in  other 
points.  What  is  true  of  some  other  faculties,  (with  wit  it  is, 
I  believe,  rather  the  reverse,)  is  much  more  so  of  this,  that 
no  one  can  estimate  it  sufficiently  but  those  who  possess  it 
themselves ;  for  it  is  very  closely  and  naturally  connected 
with  that  candour  which  puts  a  fair  and  full  value  on  each 
various  kind  of  excellence — on  the  "  diversity  of  gifts  of  the 


178  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

same  Spirit;"  and  those  ^vho  want  it  arc  apt  to  limit  their 
admiration  to  excellence  in  their  o\Yn  province,  or,  at  least, 
in  some  one  definite  province,  as  they  are  not  qualified  even 
to  form  an  adequate  conception  of  this  talent.  He  who  feels 
the  -want  of  it,  and  craves  after  it,  and  admires  those  who 
are  distinguished  for  it,  is  not  entirely  destitute  of  it.  It 
may  he  possessed  by  a  man  in  some  particular  pursuit,  but 
not  generally :  it  is,  perhaps,  most  common  in  the  mathema- 
tical sciences,  from  the  definite,  invariable,  and  demonstrable 
relation  which,  in  them,  one  truth  bears  to  another:  it  is 
most  rare  and  precious  in  the  affairs  of  life,  from  their  being 
of  an  opposite  nature.  In  these,  the  faculty  assimies  a  most 
dignified  rank,  higher,  perhaps,  than  any  other  whatever, 
AVhen  very  general,  and  possessed  in  a  high  degree,  it  is,  I 
think,  necessarily  connected  with  a  very  exalted  tone  of 
piety  ;  the  want  of  it  is  peculiarly  apt  to  lead  men  of  narrow 
ingenuity,  of  confined  and  partial  speculations,  into  scepti- 
cism. In  short,  Totality  forms  the  very  wings  of  the  butter- 
fly ;  according  as  they  are  uncxpanded  or  arc  wanting,  you 
will  remain  in  the  chrysalis  state,  either  for  the  time,  or  per- 
manently. 

To  contemplate  any  subject  in  all  its  relations,  and  as  a 
part  of  one  great  whole,  is  so  far  from  leading  to  inaccuracy, 
that  it  is  the  best  guard  against  it.  A  man  of  real  tot^^ity 
has  a  microscope,  as  well  as  a  telescope,  always  at  hand. 

The  power  of  duly  appreciating  little  things  belongs  to  a 
great  mind  :  a  narrow-minded  man  has  it  not,  for  to  him  they 
are  yreat  things. 

To  wander  from  a  subject,  and  to  take  an  enlarged  view 
of  it,  are  quite  distinct.  No  two  things  are  more  different 
thau  a  raiahling  and  a  com^jrehensive  mind. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  179 

The  poet's  remedies  for  the  dangers  of  a  little  learning, 
''Drink  deep,  or  taste  not,"  arc  both  of  them  impossible. 
None  can  drink  deep  enough  to  be  anything  more  than  very 
superficial ;  and  every  human  being,  that  is  not  a  downright 
idiot,  must  taste. 

As  it  is  evident  that  a  man  cannot  learn  all  things  per- 
fectly, it  seems  best  for  a  man  to  make  some  pursuit  his  main 
object,  according  to,  1st,  his  calling,  2nd,  his  natural  lent, 
or,  3rd,  his  opportunities ;  then,  let  him  get  a  slight  know- 
ledge of  what  else  is  worth  it,  regulated  in  his  choice  by  the 
same  three  circumstances ;  Avhich  would,  also,  determine,  in 
great  measure,  where  an  elementary,  and  where  a  superficial, 
knowledge  is  desirable.  Such  as  are  of  the  most  dignified 
and  philosophical  nature,  are  the  most  proper  for  elementary 
study ;  and  such  as  we  are  the  most  likely  to  be  called  upon 
to  practise  for  ourselves,  the  most  proper  for  superficial :  e.  g., 
it  would  be  to  most  men  of  no  practical  use,  and,  conse- 
quently, not  worth  while,  to  learn  by  heart  the  meaning  of 
some  of  the  Chinese  characters ;  but  it  might  be  very  well 
worth  while  to  study  the  principles  on  which  that  most 
singular  language  is  constructed :  contra ;  there  is  nothing 
very  curious  or  interesting  in  the  structure  of  the  Portuguese 
language ;  but  if  one  was  going  to  travel  there,  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  pick  up  some  words  and  phrases.  If  both 
circumstances  conspire,  then,  both  kinds  of  information  are 
to  be  sought;  viz.,  something  at  the  beginning  and  something 
at  the  end. 

Grammar,  logic,  rhetoric,  and  metaphysics,  or  the  philoso- 
phy of  mind,  are  manifestly  studies  of  an  elementary  nature, 
being  concerned  about  the  instruments  which  we  employ  in 
eiTecting  our  purposes  ;  and  ethics,  which  is,  in  fact,  a  branch 


180  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTIIEGMS. 

of  metaphysics,  may  be  called  the  elements  of  conduct.  Such 
knowledge  is  far  from  showy :  elements  do  not  much  come 
into  sight ;  they  are  like  that  part  of  a  bridge  which  is  under 
water,  and  is  therefore  least  admired,  though  it  is  not  the 
work  of  least  art  and  difficulty.  On  this  ground  it  is  suitable 
to  females,  as  least  leading  to  that  pedantry  which  learned 
ladies  must  ever  be  peculiarly  liable  to,  as  well  as  least 
exciting  that  jealousy  to  which  they  must  ever  be  exposed, 
while  learning  in  them  continues  to  be  a  distinction.  A 
woman  might,  in  this  way,  be  very  learned  without  any  one's 
finding  it  out. 

Smattering  is  applied  to  two  oppositcs :  elementary  know- 
ledge and  superficial  knowledge ;  some  things  should  be 
learned  a  little  at  both  ends. 

To  learn  a  thing  because  it  is  easy,  is  like  buying  a 
bargain — purchasing  what  you  do  not  want  because  you  can 
get  it  cheaper  than  what  you  do  want. 

Some  pursuits  are  more  valuable  themselves  than  the 
object  Avhich  is  pursued,  and  which  gives  them  their  Avhole 
value. 

The  analytical  method  is  the  best  to  introduce  knowledge ; 
the  synthetical,  to  perfect  and  retain  it. 

Of  many  parts  of  learning,  it  might  be  said,  "  Take  care 
of  the  easy  tilings,  and  the  hard  ones  will  take  care  of  them- 
selves." The  way  lo  make  out  a  difficulty  is  not  to  puzzle 
at  it,  but  to  fainiliarizc  yourself  with  those  parts  which  you 
understand,  till  they  gradually  throw  light  on  the  more 
obscure.    In  learning  a  language,  read  easy  books  with  great 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  181 

care  and  attention ;  and  such  a  knowledge  will  be  acquired 
as  may  be  aj^pNed,  with  the  greatest  advantage,  to  harder 
ones :  the  same  rule  applies  to  learning  grammar  also,  e.  <j., 
the  anomalous  verbs  should  never  be  learned,  until  the  chime 
of  the?"  regular  verbs  is  as  familiar  as  the  alphabet. 

Old  Lily's  method  is  too  often  neglected,  who  advises,  in 
his  preface  to  his  grammar,  not  to  make  a  boy  go  through 
all  his  rules  in  the  first  place,  "but  rather  let  him  read  some 
pretie  booke,"  so  that  the  rules  may  be  learnt  as  he  sees  the 
want  of  them. 

Our  ancestors  (and  still  more  recently  the  continental 
nations)  were  guilty  of  the  absurdity  of  dressing  up  children 
in  Avigs,  swords,  huge  buckles,  hoops,  ruffles,  and  all  the 
elaborate  full-dressed  finery  of  grown-up  people  of  that  day. 
It  is  surely  reasonable  that  the  analogous  absurdity  in 
greater  matters  also, — among  the  rest,  in  that  part  of  educa- 
tion, the  exercises  in  composition  of  young  students, — should 
be  laid  aside,  and  that  we  should  in  all  points  consider  what 
is  appropriate  to  each  different  period  of  life. 

The  young  person  who,  by  the  exercise  of  Debating 
Societies,  is  hurried  into  a  habit  of  fluent  elocution — of  ready 
extemporaneous  speaking,  which  consists  in  tliinhing  ex- 
tempore— will  be  found  to  have  been  qualifying  himself  only 
for  "  the  lion's  part"  in  the  interlude  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe. 
"  Snug.  —  Have  you  the  lion's  part  Avritten  ?  Pray  you,  if 
it  be,  give  it  me ;  for  I  am  slow  of  study.  Quince. — You  may 
do  it  extempore ;  for  it  is  nothing  but  roaring." 

To  tliose  engaged  in  Debating  Societies,  the  temptation  is 
very  strong  to  transgress  the  rule,  which  every  speaker  ought 
IG 


182  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

to  observe,  of  never  allowing  himself,  in  one  of  these  mock 
debates,  to  maintain  anything  that  he  himself  believes  to  be 
untrue,  or  to  use  an  argument  •which  he  perceives  to  be  fal- 
lacious; because,  to  such  persons  as  usually  form  the 
majority  in  one  of  those  societies,  —  youths  of  immature 
judgment,  superficial,  and  half-educated, — specious  falsehood 
and  sophistry  -will  often  appear  superior  to  truth  and  sound 
reasoning,  and  will  call  forth  louder  plaudits ;  and  the  wrong 
side  of  a  question  will  often  afford  room  for  such  a  capti- 
vating show  of  ingenuity,  as  to  be  to  them  more  easily  main- 
tained than  the  right.  And  scruples  of  conscience,  relative 
to  veracity  and  fairness,  are  not  unlikely  to  be  silenced  by 
the  consideration  that,  after  all,  it  is  no  real  battle,  but  a 
tournament ;  there  being  no  real  and  important  measure  to 
be  actually  decided  on,  but  only  a  debate  carried  on  for 
practice'  sake. 

But,  unreal  as  is  the  occasion,  and  insignificant  as  may  be 
the  particular  point,  a  habit  may  be  formed  which  will  not 
easily  be  unlearnt  afterwards — the  habit,  so  debasing  to  the 
moral  character,  of  disregarding  right  reason,  and  truth,  and 
fair  argument. 

The  defect  of  mathematics  as  an  exclusive  or  too  predomi- 
nant study,  is,  that  it  has  no  connection  with  human  affairs, 
and  affords  no  exercise  of  judgment^  having  no  degrees  of 
probability. 

The  student  of  any  branch  of  knowledge  is  liable  to  seek 
for  a  solution  of  every  question  on  every  subject  by  a  refer- 
ence to  his  own  favourite  science ;  like  a  school-boy  when 
fii-st  intrusted  with  a  knife,  who  is  for  trying  its  edge  oa 
everything  that  comes  in  his  way. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  183 

To  attempt  improving,  by  increased  knowledge,  a  man  who 
does  not  know  liow  to  make  use  of  what  he  already  has,  is 
like  seeking  to  enlarge  the  prospect  of  a  short-sighted  man 
by  taking  him  to  the  top  of  a  hill. 

The  first  business  of  a  teacher,  —  first,  not  only  in  point 
of  time,  but  of  importance, —  should  be  to  excite  not  merely 
a  general  curiosity  on  the  subject  of  study,  but  a  particular 
curiosity  on  particular  points  in  that  subject. 

To  teach  one  who  has  no  curiosity  to  learn,  is  to  sow  a 
field  without  ploughing  it. 

Curiosity  is  as  much  the  parent  of  attention,  as  attention 
is  of  memory. 

Education,  as  usually  conducted,  is  addressed  to  the 
memory  alone  ;  and  that  is  the  reason,  one  reason  at  least, 
why  clever  boys,  as  they  are  supposed  to  be,  do  not  turn  out 
clever  men,  and  vice  versd.  If  a  boy  remembers  all  that  is 
told  him,  he  does  as  much  as  is  usually  required  of  him ;  and 
BO  wonder,  for  he  is  told  just  everything,  and  is  never  called 
upon  to  exert  his  OAvn  powers  except  in  retaining ;  and  then 
it  is  made  a  wonder  that  a  person  who  has  been  so  well 
taught,  and  who,  perhaps,  was  quick  in  learning  and  remem- 
bering, should  not  prove  an  able  man :  which  is  about  as 
reasonable  as  to  expect  that  a  capacious  cistern,  if  filled, 
should  be  converted  into  a  perennial  fountain. 

Many  are  saved  by  the  deficiency  of  their  memory  from 
being  spoiled  by  their  education. 

Among  the  intellectual  qualifications  for  the  study  of  His- 
tory, the  importance  of  a  vivid  imagination  is  greatly,  if  not 


184  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

•wholly,  overlooked.  Most  persons  have  been  accustomed  to 
consider  Imagination  as  having  no  otber  office  than  to  feign 
and  falsify ;  and  therefore,  that  it  must  tend  to  pervert  the 
truth  of  History  and  to  mislead  the  judgment. — On  the  con- 
trary, our  view  of  any  transaction,  especially  one  that  is  re- 
mote in  time  or  place,  will  necessarily  be  imperfect,  generally 
incorrect,  unless  it  embrace  something  more  than  the  bare 
outline  of  the  occurrences, — unless  we  have  before  the  mind 
a  lively  idea  of  the  scenes  in  which  the  events  took  place,  the 
habits  of  thought  and  of  feeling  of  the  actors,  and  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  transaction ;  unless,  in 
short,  we  can  in  a  considerable  degree  transport  ourselves 
out  of  our  own  age,  and  country,  and  persons,  and  imagine 
ourselves  the  agents  or  spectators.  It  is  from  consideration 
of  all  these  circumstances  that  we  are  enabled  to  form  a 
right  judgment  as  to  the  facts  which  History  records,  and  to 
derive  instruction  from  it.  "What  we  imagine  may  indeed  bo 
merely  imaginary,  that  is,  unreal ;  but  it  may  again  be  what 
actually  does  or  did  exist.  To  say  that  Imagination,  if  not 
regulated  by  sound  judgment  and  sufficient  knoAvledge,  may 
chance  to  convey  to  us  false  impressions  of  past  events,  is 
only  to  say  that  man  is  fallible.  But  such  false  impressions 
arc  even  mucli,  the  more  likely  to  take  possession  of  those 
whose  imagination  is  feeble  or  uncultivated.  Tlu-y  are  apt 
to  imagine  the  things,  persons,  times,  countries,  &c.,  which 
they  read  of,  as  much  less  different  from  Avhat  they  see 
around  them,  than  is  really  the  case. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  in  reference  to  that  kind  of  Proba- 
bility—  the  "I'lausible"  or  "Natural,"  —  that  men  are  apt 
to  judge  amiss  of  situations,  persons,  and  circumstances, 
concerning  which  they  have  no  exact  knoAvledge,  by  applying 
to  these  the  measure  of  their  own  feelings  and  experience : 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  185 

the  result  of  which  is,  that  a  correct  account  of  these  will 
often  appear  to  them  unnatural,  and  an  erroneous  one  natu- 
ral :  e.  </.,  a  person  born  with  the  usual  endowments  of  the 
senses  is  apt  to  attribute  to  the  blind-born  and  the  deaf- 
mutes,  such  habits  of  thought,  and  such  a  state  of  mind,  as 
his  own  would  be,  if  ho  were  to  become  deaf  or  blind,  or  to  be 
left  in  the  dark :  which  would  be  very  wide  of  the  truth. 
That  a  man  born  blind  would  not,  on  obtaining  sight,  know 
apart,  on  seeing  them,  a  ball  and  a  cube,  which  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  handle,  nor  distinguish  the  dog  from  the  cat, 
would  appear  to  most  persons  unacquainted  with  the  result 
of  experiments  much  less  "natural"  than  the  reverse.  So 
it  is  also  with  those  brought  up  free,  in  reference  to  the 
feelings  and  habits  of  thought  of  born  slaves ;  with  civilized 
jnen  in  reference  to  savages ;  and  of  men  living  in  society,  in 
reference  to  one  who  passes  whole  years  in  total  solitude.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  the  admirable  fiction  of  Robinson  Crusoe 
would  have  been  not  only  much  less  amusing,  but  to  most 
readers  less  apparently  natural,  if  Friday  and  the  other 
savages  had  been  represented  with  the  indocility  and  other 
qualities  which  really  belong  to  such  beings  as  the  Brazilian 
cannibals,  and  if  the  hero  himself  had  been  represented  with 
that  half-brutish,  apathetic  despondency  and  carelessness 
about  all  comforts  demanding  steady  exertion,  which  are  the 
really  natural  results  of  a  life  of  utter  solitude,  and  if  he  had 
been  described  as  almost  losing  the  use  of  his  own  language 
instead  of  remembering  the  Spanish. 

Again,  I  remember  mentioning  to  a  very  intelligent  man 
the  description  given  by  the  earliest  missionaries  to  New 
Zealand,  of  their  introduction  of  the  culture  of  wheat ;  which 
he  derided  as  an  absurd  fabrication,  but  which  appeared  to 
me  what  might  have  been  reasonably  conjectured.  The 
savages  were  familiar  with  bread  in  the  form  of  ship-biscuit ; 


180  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

and  accordingly,  roots  being  alone  cultivated  by  them,  and 
furnishing  their  chief  food,  tliey  expected  to  find  at  the  roots 
of  the  wheat  tubers,  which  could  be  made  into  biscuits.  They 
accordingly  dug  up  the  Avheat,  and  Avere  mortified  at  the 
failure  of  their  hopes.  The  idea  of  collecting  small  seeds, 
pulverizing  these,  and  making  the  powder  into  a  paste  which 
was  to  be  hardened  by  fire,  was  quite  foreign  from  all  their 
experience.  Yet  here  an  unnatural  representation  would  to 
many  have  appeared  the  more  natural. 

Much  pains,  therefore,  must  in  many  cases  be  taken  in 
giving  such  explanations  as  may  put  men  on  their  guard 
ao^ainst  this  kind  of  mistake,  and  enable  them  to  see  the 
improbability,  and  sometimes  utter  impossibility,  of  what,  at 
the  first  glance,  they  will  be  apt  to  regard  as  perfectly  natu- 
ral, and  to  satisfy  them  that  something  Avhich  they  were  dis- 
posed to  regard  as  extravagantly  unnatural  is  just  what 
might  have  been  reasonably  expected. 

In  works  of  fiction  there  is  a  distinction  to  be  made 
between  the  unnatural  and  the  merely  improbable.  A 
fiction  is  unnatural  when  there  is  some  assignable  reason 
against  the  events  taking  place  as  described, ^Avhen  men  are 
represented  as  acting  contrary  to  the  character  assigned 
them,  or  to  human  nature  in  general;  as  when  a  young  lady 
of  seventeen,  brought  up  in  ease,  luxury  and  retirement,  with 
no  companions  but  the  narrow-minded  and  illiterate,  displays 
(as  a  heroine  usually  does)  under  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances, such  wisdom,  fortitude,  and  knowledge  of  the  world, 
as  the  best  instructors  and  the  best  examples  can  rarely 
produce,  without  the  aid  of  more  mature  age  and  longer 
experience. — Indeed,  one  way  in  which  the  unnatural  is  often 
made  to  appear,  for  a  time,  natural,  is  by  giving  a  lively  and 
striking  description  which  is  correct  in  its  several  parts,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  187 

unnatural  only  when  these  are  comhined  into  a  whole  ;  like 
a  painter  who  should  give  an  exact  picture  of  an  English 
country-house,  of  a  grove  of  palm-trees,  an  elephant,  and  an 
iceberg,  all  in  the  same  landscape.  Thus,  a  vivid  represen- 
tation of  a  den  of  infamy  and  degradation,  and  of  an 
ingenious  and  well-disposed  youth,  may  each  be,  in  itself,  so 
natural  as  to  draw  oft'  for  a  time  the  attention  from  the 
absurdity  of  making  the  one  arise  out  of  the  other. — But  a 
fiction  is  still  improbable,  though  not  unnatural,  Avhcn  there 
is  no  reason  to  be  assigned  why  things  should  not  take  place 
as  represented,  except  that  the  overbalance  of  chances  is 
against  it ;  the  hero  meets,  in  his  utmost  distress,  most 
opportunely  with  the  very  person  to  whom  he  had  formerly 
done  a  signal  service,  and  who  happens  to  communicate  to 
him  a  piece  of  intelligence  which  sets  all  to  rights.  Why 
should  he  not  meet  him  as  well  as  any  one  else  ?  All  that 
can  be  said  is,  that  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should :  This 
distinction  may  be  plainly  perceived  in  the  events  of  real 
life ;  when  anything  takes  place  of  such  a  nature  as  we 
should  call  in  a  fiction  merely  improbable,  because  there  are 
many  chances  against  it,  we  call  it  a  lucky  or  unlucky 
accident,  a  singular  coincidence,  something  very  extraordi- 
nary, odd,  curious,  &c.,  whereas  anything  which,  in  a  fiction, 
would  be  called  unnatural  "when  it  actually  occurs  (and  such 
things  do  occur),  is  still  called  unnatural,  inexplicable,  unac- 
countable, inconceivable,  &c.,  epithets  which  are  not  applied 
to  events  that  have  merely  the  balances  of  chances  against 
them. 

A  novel  or  tale  may  be  compared  to  a  picture ;  a  fable  to 
a  device. 

Poetry  is    imitative    of  prose,   in    the    same    manner    as 
singii:g  of  ordinary  speaking,  and  dancing  of  ordinary  action. 


188  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPnTHEGMS. 

Considering  that  Proverbs  have  been  current  in  all  ages 
and  conntries,  it  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  so  much 
diflbrence  of  opinion  should  exist  as  to  the  utility,  and  as  to 
the  design  of  them.  Some  arc  accustomed  to  speak  as  jf 
Proverbs  contained  a  sort  of  concentrated  essence  of  the 
■wisdom  of  all  ages,  which  will  enable  any  one  to  judge  and 
act  aright  on  every  emergency.  But  that  Proverbs  are  not 
generally  regarded,  by  those  who  use  them,  as  necessarily 
propositions  of  universal  and  acknowledged  truth,  like  mathe- 
matical axioms,  is  plain  from  the  circumstance  that  many  of 
those  most  in  use,  arc,  like  the  common-places  of  Bacon, 
opposed  to  each  other ;  as,  e.  </.,  "  Take  care  of  the  pence, 
and  the  pounds  will  take  care  of  themselves;"  to  "Be  not 
penny-wise  and  pound-foolish ;"  and  again,  "  The  more  haste, 
the  worse  speed ;"  or,  "  Wait  awhile,  that  we  may  make  an 
end  the  sooner  ;"  to  "  Take  time  by  the  forelock,"  or,  "  Time 
and  tide  for  no  man  bide,"  kc. 

It  seems,  I  think,  to  be  practically  understood,  that  a 
Proverb  is  merely  a  compendious  exjn'ession  of  some  princi- 
ple which  will  usually  be,  in  different  cases,  and  with  or 
without  certain  modifications,  true  or  false,  applicable  or 
inapplicable.  Whoa  then  a  Proverb  is  introduced,  the 
speaker  usually  employs  it  as  a  major-premise,  and  is  under- 
stood to  imply,  as  a  minor,  that  the  principle  thus  referred 
to  is  applicable  in  the  existing  case.  And  what  is  gained  by 
the  employment  of  the  Proverb,  is,  that  his  judgment  and 
his  reasons  for  it  are  conveyed,  through  the  use  of  a  well- 
hiotvn  form  of  expression,  clearly,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
an  incomparably  shorter  space,  than  if  he  had  had  to  explain 
his  meaning  in  expressions  fi'amed  for  the  occasion.  And 
the  brevity  thus  obtained  is  often  still  further  increased  by 
suppressing  the    lull    statement  even    of   the    very  proverb 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  189 

itself,  if  a  very  common  one,  and  merely  alliuUng  to  it  in  a 
word  or  two. 

Proverbs,  accordingly,  are  somewhat  analogous  to  those 
medical  formulas,  Avhich,  being  in  frequent  use,  are  kept 
ready  made  up  in  the  chemist's  shops,  and  which  often  save 
the  framing  of  a  distinct  prescription. 

Cultivate  not  only  the  corn-fields  of  your  mind,  but  the 
pleasure-grounds  also. 

Every  faculty  and  every  study,  however  worthless  they 
may  be,  when  not  employed  in  the  service  of  God — hoAvever 
debased  and  polluted,  when  devoted  to  the  service  of  sin  — 
become  ennobled  and  sanctified  when  directed,  by  one  whose 
constraining  motive  is  the  love  of  Christ,  towards  a  good 
object.  Let  not  the  Christian  then  think  "  scorn  of  the 
pleagant  land  :" — that  land  is  the  field  of  ancient  and  modern 
literature — of  philosophy,  in  almost  all  its  departments — of 
the  arts  of  reasoning  and  persuasion.  —  Every  part  of  it 
may  be  cultivated  with  advantage,  as  the  land  of  Canaan 
when  bestowed  upon  God's  peculiar  people.  They  Avere  not 
commanded  to  let  it  lie  waste,  as  incurably  polluted  by  the 
abominations  of  its  first  inhabitants ;  but  to  cultivate  it,  and 
dwell  in  it,  living  in  obedience  to  the  divine  laws,  and 
dedicating  its  choicest  fruits  to  the  Lord  their  God. 

It  is  a  great  mistake,  often  made  in  practice,  if  not  in 
theory,  to  suppose  that  a  child's  character,  intellectual  and 
moral,  is  formed  by  those  books  only  which  we  put  into  his 
hands  with  that  design.  As  hardly  anything  can  accident- 
ally touch  the  soft  clay  Vtithout  stamping  its  mark  on  it,  so 
hardly  any  reading  can  interest  a  child,  without  contributing 
in  some  degree,  though  the  book  itself  be  afterwards  totally 


190  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTnEGMS. 

forgotten,  to  form  the  cliaracter ;  and  the  parents,  therefore, 
■who,  merely  requiring  from  him  a  certain  course  of  study, 
pay  little  or  no  attention  to  story-books,  are  educating  him 
they  know  not  how. 

Those  works  of  fiction  are  worse  than  unprofitable  that 
inculcate  morality,  with  an  exclusion  of  all  reference  to 
religious  principle.  This  is  obviously  and  notoriously  the 
character  of  Miss  Edgcworth's  moral  tales.  And  so  entire 
and  resolute  is  this  exclusion,  that  it  is  maintained  at  the 
expense  of  what  may  be  called  poetical  truth :  it  destroys, 
in  many  instances,  the  probability  of  the  tale,  and  the  natu- 
ralness of  the  characters.  That  Christianity  does  exist, 
every  one  must  believe  as  an  incontrovertible  trutli  ;  nor  can 
any  one  deny  that,  whether  true  or  false,  it  does  exercise,  at 
least  is  supposed  to  exercise,  an  influence  on  the  feelings  and 
conduct  of  some  of  the  believers  in  it.  To  represent,  there- 
fore, persons  of  various  ages,  sex,  country,  and  station  in  life, 
as  practising,  on  the  most  trying  occasions,  every  kind  of 
duty,  and  encountering  every  kind  of  danger,  difficulty  and 
hardship,  while  none  of  them  ever  makes  the  least  reference 
to  a  religious  motive,  is  as  decidedly  at  variance  with  reality 
— what  is  called  in  works  of  fiction  unnatural — as  it  would  be 
to  represent  Mahomet's  enthusiastic  followers  as  rushing  into 
battle  without  any  thought  of  his  promised  paradise.  This, 
therefore,  is  a  blemish  in  point  of  art  which  every  reader, 
possessing  taste,  must  perceive,  whatever  may  be  his  reli- 
gious or  non-religious  persuasion.  But  a  far  higher,  and 
more  important,  question  than  that  of  taste  is  involved.  For 
though  Miss  E'lgeworth  may  entertain  opinions  which  would 
not  permit  her,  with  consistency,  to  attribute  more  to  the 
influence  of  religion  than  she  has  done;  and  in  that  case 
may  stand  acquitted,  inforo  conscientice,  of  wilfully  suppress- 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  191 

ing   anything  ■vyliicli  she  acknowledges    to  bo  true  and  hn- 
portant ;  yet,  as  a  writer,  it  must  still  be  considered  as  a 
great  blemish,  in  the  eyes  at  least  of  those  who  think  diffe- 
rently, that    virtue    should    be    studiously   inculcated,  with 
scarcely  any  reference  to  Avhat  they  regard  as  the  mainspring 
of  it  —  that  vice    should  be  traced  to    every  other    source 
except  the  want  of  religious  principle — that  the  most  radical 
change  from  worthlessness  to  excellence  should  be  represented 
as  wholly  independent  of  that  Agent,  which  they  consider  as 
the  only  one  that  can  accomplish  it  —  and  that  consolation 
under  affliction  should  be  represented  as  derived  from  every 
source,  except  the  one  which  they  look  to  as  the  only  true 
and  sure  one  : — "  Is  it  not  because  there  is  no  God  in  Israel, 
that   ye    have    sent  to  enquire  of  Baalzebub,  the  God  of 
Ekron?"     This  vital  defect  in  such  works    should  be  con- 
stantly pointed  out  to  the  young  reader ;  and  he  should  be 
warned  that,  to  realize  the  picture  of  noble,  disinterested, 
thorough-going    virtue,    presented    in    such    and    such     an 
instance,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  resort  to  those  princi- 
ples which,  in   these  fictions,  are  unnoticed.     He  should,  in 
short,  be  reminded  that  all  these  "  things  that  are  lovely  and 
of  good  report,"  which  have  been  placed  before  him,  are 
the  genuine  fruits  of  the  Holy  Land ;  though  the  spies  who 
have  brought  them  bring  also   an  evil  report  of  that  land, 
and  would  persuade  us  to  remain  wandering  in  the  wilderness. 

In  books  designed  for  children,  there  are  two  extremes 
that  should  be  avoided.  The  one,  that  reference  to  religious 
principles  in  connection  with  matters  too  trifling  and  undig- 
nified, arising  from  a  well-intentioned  zeal,  causing  a  forget- 
fulness  of  the  maxim,  whose  notorious  truth  has  made  it  pro- 
verbial, "Too  much  familiarity  breeds  contempt;"  and  the 
other  is   the   contrary,  and  still  more  prevailing,  extreme, 


192  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

arising  from  the  desire  to  preserve  a  due  reverence  for  re- 
ligion, at  the  expense  of  its  useful  application  in  conduct. 
But  a  line  may  be  dra-wn  which  will  keep  clear  of  both  ex- 
tremes. We  should  not  exclude  the  association  of  things 
sacred  with  whatever  are  to  ourselves  trifling  matters,  (for 
"these  little  things  arc  great"  to  children,)  but,  with  what- 
ever is  viewed  by  the7n  as  trifling.  Every  thing  is  great  or 
small  in  reference  to  the  parties  concerned.  The  private 
concerns  of  any  obscure  individual  are  very  insignificant  to 
the  world  at  large  ;  but  they  are  of  great  importance  to  him- 
self. And  all  worldly  affairs  must  be  small  in  the  sight  of 
the  Most  High  ;  but  irreverent  familiarity  is  engendered  in 
the  mind  of  any  one,  then,  and  then  only,  when  things 
sacred  are  associated  with  such  as  are,  to  him,  insignificant 
trifles. 

Any  direct  attempt  at  moral  teaching,  in  a  fictitious  narra- 
tive, and  any  attempt  Avhatever  to  give  scientific  information 
will,  unless  managed  with  the  utmost  discretion,  interfere 
with  what,  after  all,  is  the  immediate  object  of  the  writer  of 
fiction,  as  of  the  poet,  to  please.  If  instruction  do  not  join 
as  a  volunteer,  she  will  do  no  good  service.  Some  tales  put 
one  in  mind  of  those  clocks  and  watches  which  are  con- 
demned "a  double  or  a  treble  debt  to  pay  ;"  which,  besides 
their  legitimate  object,  to  show  the  hour,  tell  you  the  day  ofi 
the  month  or  the  week,  give  you  a  landscape  for  a  dial 
plate,  with  the  second-hand  forming  the  sails  of  a  windmill, 
or  have  a  barrel  to  play  a  tunc,  or  an  alarum  to  remind  you 
of  an  engagement ;  all  very  good  things  in  their  way  :  but 
so  it  is,  that  these  watches  never  tell  the  time  so  well  as 
those,  in  Avhich  that  is  the  exclusive  object  of  the  maker. 
Every  additional  movement  is  an  obstacle  to  the  original 
design. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  193 

I  doubt  whether  Shakspcaro  ever  had  any  thought  at  all  of 
making  his  personages  speak  characteristically.  In  most  in- 
stances, I  conceive  —  probably  in  all  —  he  drew  characters 
correctly,  because  he  could  not  avoid  it;  and  would  never 
have  attained,  in  that  department,  such  excellence  as  he  has, 
if  he  had  made  any  studied  efforts  for  it.  And  the  same 
probably  may  be  said  of  Homer,  and  of  those  other  writers 
who  have  excelled  the  most  in  delineating  characters. 
Shakspeare's  peculiar  genius  consisted  chiefly,  I  conceive,  in 
his  forming  the  same  distinct  and  consistent  idea  of  an  ima- 
ginary person,  that  an  ordinary  man  forms  of  a  real  and 
well-known  individual.  We  usually  conjecture,  pretty  accu- 
rately, concerning  a  very  intimate  acquaintance,  how  ho 
would  speak  or  act  on  any  supposed  occasion  ;  if  any  one 
should  report  to  us  his  having  done  or  said  something  quite 
out  of  character,  we  should  at  once  be  struck  with  the  in- 
consistency, and  we  often  represent  to  ourselves,  and  describe 
to  others,  without  any  conscious  effort,  not  only  the  substance 
of  what  he  would  have  been  likely  to  say,  but  even  his 
characteristic  phrases  and  looks.  Shakspeare  could  no  more 
have  endured  an  expression  from  the  lips  of  Macbeth,  incon- 
sistent with  the  character  originally  conceived,  than  an  ordi- 
nary man  could  attribute  to  his  most  respectable  acquaint- 
ance the  behaviour  of  a  ruffian,  or  to  a  human  being,  the 
voice  of  a  bird,  or  to  a  European,  the  features  and  hue  of  a 
negro.  Merely  from  the  vividness  of  the  original  concep- 
tion, characteristic  conduct  and  language  spontaneously 
suggested  themselves  to  the  great  dramatist's  pen.  He  called 
his  personages  into  being,  and  left  them,  as  it  were,  to  speak 
and  act  for  themselves. 

It   is    no    fool   that  can    describe  fools  well.     To  invent 
indeed  a  conversation  full  of  wisdom  or  of  wit,  requires  that 
17 


104  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

tlie  writer  sliould  liimsclf  possess  ability:  but  tlic  converse 
does  not  hold  good.  Many  "^vlio  have  succeeded  pretty  well 
in  painting  superior  characters,  have  failed  in  giving  indi- 
viduality to  those  weaker  ones,  which  it  is  necessary  to  in- 
troduce in  order  to  give  a  faithful  representation  of  real  life  : 
they  exhibit  to  us  mere  folly  in  the  abstract,  forgetting  that 
to  the  eye  of  a  skilful  naturalist,  the  insects  on  a  leaf  present 
as  wide  differences  as  exist  between  the  elephant  and  the 
lion.  Slender,  and  Shallow,  and  Aguecheek,  as  Shakspearo 
has  painted  them,  though  equally  fools,  resemble  one  another 
no  more  than  Richard,  and  Macbeth,  and  Julius  Cnesar. 

Biography  is  allowed  on  all  hands,  to  be  one  of  the  most 
attractive  and  profitable  kinds  of  reading  :  now  novels  of  the 
highest  class  being  a  kind  of  fictitious  biography,  bear  the 
same  relation  to  the  real,  that  epic  and  tragic  poetry,  accord- 
ing to  Aristotle,  bear  to  history ;  they  present  us  (supposing 
of  course,  each  perfect  in  its  kind)  with  the  general,  instead 
of  the  particular, — the  probable,  instead  of  the  true  ;  and,  by 
leaving  out  those  accidental  irregularities,  and  exceptions  to 
general  rules,  which  constitute  the  many  improbabilities  of 
real  narrative,  present  us  with  a  clear  and  abstracted  view 
of  the  general  rules  themselves ;  and  thus  concentrate,  as  it 
were,  into  a  small  compass,  the  net  result  of  wide  experience. 

Geologists  complain  that  Avhen  they  Avant  specimens  of  the 
common  rocks  of  a  country,  they  receive  cui'ious  spars ;  just 
so,  historians  give  us  the  extraordinary  events,  and  omit 
just  what  we  want  —  the  every-day  life  of  each  particular 
time  and  country, 

lie  Avho  knows  two  languages  is  a  higher  being  than  he 
who  knows  but  one ;  and  the  more  dissimilar  the  better. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  195 

One  great  advantage  in  studying  philosophical  works  in  a 
foreign  language,  is  that  an  idea  which  one  has  to  compre- 
hend, or  express,  in  a  foreign  language,  is  more  distinctly 
understood  by  the  mind,  and  the  errors  arising  from  the 
ambiguity,  and  other  defects  of  language,  more  easily  de- 
tected.—  Many  a  voluminous  treatise,  the  Author  would 
throw  into  the  fire,  if  he  could  but  be  persuaded  to  translate 
it  into  Greek.  Besides  this  prevention  of  the  errors  arising 
from  the  ambiguity  of  language,  the  very  difficulty  excites 
the  attention  so  as  to  fix  the  thoughts  better  in  the  memory ; 
meat  that  rccjuires  a  good  deal  of  chewing,  is  sometimes 
more  digestible  and  nutritive,  than  spoon-meat  that  is  swal- 
lowed whole. 

In  the  Portuguese  language  there  are  two  words,  "  ser" 
and  "cstar,"  both  answering  to  the  English  "to  be;"  and 
foreigners  are  often  much  perplexed  about  the  proper  use  of 
each.  The  rule,  however,  is  a  logical  one,  easily  remembered  : 
"  estar"  furnishes  the  copula  when  the  predicate  is  a  separa- 
ble accident,  and  "ser,"  in  all  other  cases.  For  instance, 
"Estar  in  Inghilteria"  is  "to  be  in  England;"  Ser  Inglez  is 
"  to  be  a  native  of  England."  Of  these  two  examples,  the 
former  is  what  logicians  call  a  sejmrahle  accident,  because  it 
may  be  separated  from  the  individual :  (c.  g.,  he  may  leave 
England  ;)  the  hitter  is  an  inseparable  accident,  being  not 
separable  from  the  individual,  {i.  e.,  he  who  is  a  native  of 
England  can  never  be  otherwise.)  So  also  "Quern  e?" 
*'  who  is  he  ?"     "  Quern  esta  la  ?"  "  who  is  there  ?" 

Learning  a  language  from  its  poets  is  like  studying  Botany 
in  a  garden  of  double  flowers. 

The  chief  use  of  the  Classics  is,  that  they  afford  a  fixed 
Standard  of  taste  by  which  we  may  regulate  our  judgment, 


196  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

and  tin's  ■wltliout  servilely  adherini;  to  the  ancient  models.  — 
"We  need  not  steer  direct  for  tlie  fixed  point,  but  by  ahvays 
observing  our  bearing  to  it,  many  eccentricities  of  our  course 
will  be  prevented.  Besides  this,  the  study  of  them  affords 
the  same  advantage,  that  the  acquirement  of  a  foreign  lan- 
guage presents,  for  observing  the  various  modes  of  thinking 
in  different  nations,  at  different  times. 

Language  often  contains  monuments,  not  noticed  till  care- 
fully examined,  of  ancient  laws,  usages,  and  modes  of 
thought,  so  old  and  forgotten,  that  the  revival  of  them  would 
be  regarded  as  an  innovation.  The  word  "edification"  is 
such  a  monument.  There  arc  many  such  of  heathen  super- 
stitions, e.g..)  Bacchanalian,  Martials,  Panic,  Jovial,  Hearth 
(from  a  Saxon  Goddess,  Ilertha,)  and  the  names  of  the  days 
of  the  week.  In  England  people  talk  of  being  afraid  of  "  Tom 
Poker."  This  is  Puck,  or  Pug,  or  Pooka  ;  or  Bug,  or  Bogle, 
or  Bugaboo  ;  in  Iluss  Bog,  which,  being  the  word  for  a  spirit, 
is  applied  to  the  Deity. 

The  laws  of  rude  nations,  in  ancient  times,  decreed,  that 
the  next  of  kin  to  the  person  murdered  t^hould  have  satisfac- 
tion, either  by  the  death  of  the  murderer,  or  by  accepting 
(if  he  chose)  a  payment  instead,  just  as  if  it  had  been  his 
horse  or  ox  that  had  been  killed.  Accordingly,  the  word 
"mercy"  comes  from  the  Latin  "merces,"  a  payment;  and 
originally  a  man  was  not  said  to  show  or  to  bestow  mercy, 
but  to  accept  mercy ;  that  is,  consent  to  spare  another's  life 
on  receiving  a  ransom. 

The  word  "punishment"  again,  is  derived  from  a  word 
which,  in  Greek  and  in  Latin,  signified  the  payment  of  a 
ransom,  compensation,  or  sadsftiction.  And  in  those  lan- 
guages they  did  not  speak  of  injlicting  and  suffering  punish- 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  197 

ment,  but  of  tnlcing  vengeance,  and  jtaying  the  penalty  {or 
damaycs)  -which  was  done,  either  in  money,  (as  is  the  law 
now,)  or  by  submitting  to  blows  or  other  personal  chastise- 
ment, to  gratify  the  desire  of  the  sufferer  for  retaliation^ 
(from  the  Latin  "talis,"  like.)  Hence  also  the  Greek  word, 
xaTaXXa-TTw  which  originally  signified  to  "exchange,"  came  to 
signify  to  "reconcile;"  since  it  was,  usually,  by  giving  and 
accepting  a  compensation,  or  -equivalent  for  an  injury,  that 
parties  were  reconciled. 

It  will  be  often  found  that  two  of  the  meanings  of  a  word 
will  have  no  connexion  with  one  another,  but  will  each  have 
some  connexion  with  the  third.  Thus  "  martyr"  originally 
signified  a  witness ;  thence  it  was  applied  to  those  who 
suffered  in  bearing  testimony  to  Christianity ;  and  thence 
again  it  is  often  applied  to  sufferers  in  general :  the  first  and 
third  significations  are  not  the  least  connected.  Thus  "Past" 
signifies  originally  a  pillar  (postum  from  pono) ;  then,  a  dis- 
tance marked  out  by  posts ;  and  then,  the  carriages,  messen- 
gers, &c.,  that  travelled  over  this  distance. 

In  that  phenomenon  in  language,  that  both  in  the  Greek 
and  Latin,  nouns  of  the  neuter  gender,  denoting  things,  in- 
variably had  the  tiominative  and  the  accusative  the  same,  or 
rather,  had  an  accusative  only,  employed  as  a  nominative 
when  required ;  may  there  not  be  traced  an  indistinct  con- 
sciousness of  the  persuasion  that  a  mere  thing  is  not  capable 
of  being  an  agent,  which  a  person  only  can  really  be,  and 
that  the  possession  of  power,  strictly  so  called,  by  physical 
causes  is  not  conceivable,  or  their  capacity  to  maintain,  any 
more  than  to  produce  at  first,  the  system  of  the  Universe  ? 
— whose  continued  existence,  as  well  as  its  origin,  seems  to 
depend  on  the  continued  operation  of  the  great  Creator. — 
17* 


198  MISCELLANEOUS    APOrUTHEGMS. 

May  there  not  be  in  this  an  admission  that  the  Laws  of 
Nature  presuppose  an  agent,  and  are  incapable  of  being  the 
cause  of  their  own  observance? 

The  heathen  mythology  contains  among  a  chaos  of  wild 
fables,  some  broken  and  scattered  fragments  of  true  history, 
like  the  organic  remains  of  an  ancient  world,  found  dispersed 
and  often  hard  to  be  ascertained,  in  the  midst  of  the  strata 
formed  from  the  deposits  of  a  deluge.  Such  a  fragment  of 
truth  is  in  the  tradition  respecting  the  discovery  of  fire  by 
Prometheus,  i.  c,  the  Provident, —  fire  being  probably  no 
human  discovery,  but  a  gift  of  Providence  in  the  way  of  a 
revelation.  Again — Phoenix  was  the  name  given  to  an  ima- 
ginarj-  bird,  which  was  fabled  to  live  a  thousand  years,  and 
then  .to  take  fire  and  burn  to  ashes,  from  which  a  new 
Phoenix  arose.  Now,  as  the  Greek  name  for  a  palm  was  also 
phoenix,  and  as  it  is  generally  supposed  that  it  was  in  a 
dwarf  palm  (one  of  the  commonest  shrubs  in  the  wilderness 
of  Sinai)  that  Moses  saAv  the  manifestation  of  God,  in  a 
flame  of  fire,  may  not  the  fable  of  tlie  bird  have  arisen  from 
some  obscure  tradition  of  the  palm  bush,  whicli  "burned 
with  fire  and  yet  was  not  consumed  ?"  It  is  remarkable,  that 
in  the  eastern  countries  (more  lately  in  Spain  and  Italy  also) 
palm-branches  have  long  been  used  on  occasions  of  triumph 
or  rejoicing,  being  reckoned  an  emblem  of  victory. 

It  has  always  happened  that,  when  public  attention  has 
been  first  directed  to  any  new  branch  of  knowledge,  tlie  re- 
sult has  been  something  like  the  exuberant  fecundity  which 
Lucretius  attributes  to  the  earth  at  its  first  formation  —  a 
confused  assemblage  of  mis-shapen  monsters,  interspersed 
with  a  few  more  perfectly  formed  beings,  whose  superior  or- 
ganization enables  them  to  survive  the  spontaneous  destruc- 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  199 

tion  of  the  rest.  And  when  this  mixture  of  truth  and  false- 
hood, of  sound  and  unsound  theories,  is  presented  to  the 
world,  it  has  ever  been  found  that  the  timorous,  the  lazy,  and 
the  undistinguishing  (no  inconsiderable  portion  of  mankind), 
have  denied  the  whole  indiscriminately,  as  a  tissue  of  mis- 
chievous absurdities. 

In  combating  deep-rooted  prejudices,  and  maintaining  un- 
popular and  paradoxical  truths,  the  point  to  be  aimed  at 
should  be,  to  adduce  what,  is-  sufficient,  and  not  much  more 
than  is  sufficient,  to  prove  your  conclusion.  If  you  can  but 
satisfy  men  that  your  opinion  is  decidedly  more  probable  than 
the  opposite,  you  will  have  carried  your  point  more  effectually 
than  if  you  go  on,  much  beyond  this,  to  demonstrate,  by  a 
multitude  of  the  most  forcible  arguments,  the  extreme  absur- 
dity of  thinking  differently,  till  you  have  affronted  the  self- 
esteem  of  some,  and  awakened  the  distrust  of  others.  Some 
will  be  stung  by  a  feeling  of  shame  passing  off  into  resent- 
ment, whicfi  stops  their  ears  against  argument.  They  would 
be  so  sorry  to  think  they  had  been  blinded  to  such  an  excess, 
and  are  so  angry  with  him  who  is  endeavouring  to  persuade 
them  to  tliink  so,  that  these  feelings  determine  them  not  to 
think  it.  They  try  (and  it  is  an  attempt  which  few  persons 
ever  make  in  vain)  to  shut  their  eyes  against  an  humiliating 
conviction :  and  thus,  the  very  triumphant  force  of  the 
reasoning  adduced,  serves  to  harden  them  against  admitting 
the  conclusion :  much  as  one  may  conceive  Roman  soldiers 
desperately  holding  out  an  untenable  fortress  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity, from  apprehension  of  being  made  to  pass  under  the 
yoke  by  the  victors,  should  they  surrender.  Others,  again, 
perhaps  comparatively  strangers  to  the  question  and  not 
prejudiced  against  the  conclusion  set  forth  too  strongly,  will 
sometimes  have  their  suspicions  roused  by  this  very  circum- 


200  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

Stance.  ''  Can  it  be  possible,"  they  -will  say,  "  that  such  a 
conclusion,  so  very  obvious  as  this  is  made  to  appear,  should 
not  have  been  admitted  long  ago  ?  Is  it  conceivable  that 
such  and  such  eminent  philosophers,  divines,  statesmen,  &c., 
should  have  been  all  their  lives  under  delusions  so  gross  ?" 
Hence,  they  are  apt  to  infer,  cither  that  the  author  has  mis- 
taken the  opinions  of  those  he  imagines  opposed  to  him ;  or 
else,  that  there  is  some  subtle  fallacy  in  his  arguments.  A 
distrust  that  reminds  one  of  the  story  related  by  a  French 
■writer,  M.  Say,  of  some  one  who,  for  a  wager,  stood  a  whole 
day  on  one  of  the  bridges  in  Paris,  offering  to  sell  a  five-franc 
piece  for  one  franc,  and  (naturally)  not  finding  a  purchaser. 
In  this  way,  the  very  clearness  and  force  of  the  demonstra- 
tion will,  with  some  minds,  have  an  opposite  tendency  to  the 
one  desired.  Labourers  who  are  employed  in  driving  ivedges 
into  a  block  of  wood,  are  careful  to  use  blows  of  no  greater 
force  than  is  just  sufficient.  If  they  strike  too  hard,  the 
elasticity  of  the  wood  will  tliroiv  out  the  ivedge. 

The  difficulty  of  refuting  very  silly  and  weak  arguments, 
reminds  one  of  the  well-known  difficult  feat  of  cutting 
through  a  cushion  with  a  sword. 

Eloquence  is  relative.  One  can  no  more  pronounce  on  the 
eloquence  of  any  composition  than  the  wholesomeness  of  a 
medicine,  without  knowing  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

It  is  usual  to  call  an  argument,  simply,  strong  or  weak, 
without  reference  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  designed  ; 
whereas,  the  arguments  which  afford  the  most  satisfaction  to 
a  candid  mind,  are  often  such  as  would  have  less  weight  in 
controversg  tlian  many  otliors,  which,  again,  would  be  the 
less  suitable  for  the  former  purpose, — for  instance,  there  arc 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  201 

some  of  the  intern;il  evidences  of  Christianity,  which,  in 
general,  are  the  most  satisfactory  to  a  believer's  mind,  but 
are  not  the  most  striking  in  the  refutation  of  unbelievers  : 
the  arguments  from  Analogy  on  the  other  hand,  "which  arc 
(in  refuting  objections)  the  most  unanswerable,  are  not  so 
pleasing  and  consolatory. 

It  may  serve  to  illustrate  what  has  been  said,  to  remark 
that  our  judgment  of  the  character  of  any  individual,  is  often 
not  originally  derived  from  such  circumstances  as  we  should 
assign,  or  could  adequately  set  forth  in  language,  in  justifi- 
cation of  our  opinion.  When  we  undertake  to  give  our 
reasons  for  thinking  that  some  individual,  with  whom  we  are 
personally  acquainted,  is,  or  is  not,  a  gentleman, — a  man  of 
taste, — humane, — public-spirited,  &c., — we  of  course  appeal 
to  his  conduct,  or  his  distinct  avowal  of  his  own  sentiments ; 
and  if  these  furnish  sufficient  proof  of  our  assertions,  we  are 
admitted  to  have  given  good  reasons  for  our  opinion ;  but  it 
may  be  still  doubted  whether  these  were,  in  the  first  instance, 
at  least,  our  reasons  which  led  us  to  form  that  opinion.  If 
we  carefully  and  candidly  examine  our  own  minds,  we  shall 
generally  find  that  our  judgment  Avas  originally,  (if  not 
absolutely  decided),  at  least,  strongly  influenced  by  the  per- 
son's looks,  tones  of  voice,  gestures,  choice  of  expressions, 
and  the  like  ;  which,  if  stated  as  reasons  for  forming  a  con- 
clusion, would  in  general  appear  frivolous,  merely  because 
no  language  is  competent  adequately  to  describe  them  ;  but 
which  are  not  necessarily  insufficient  grounds  for  beginning, 
at  least,  to  form  an  opinion ;  since  it  is  notorious  that  there 
are  many  acute  persons  who  are  seldom  deceived  in  such 
indications  of  character. 

In  all  subjects,  indeed,  persons  unaccustomed  to  ^NTiting 
or  discussion,  but  possessing  natural  sagacity,  and  experi- 
ence in  particular  departments,  have  been   observed  to  be 


202  MISCELLANEOUS  APOPHTHEGMS. 

generally  unable  to  give  a  satisfactory  reason  for  tlieir  judg- 
ments, even  on  points  on  ■which  they  are  actually  very  good 
judges.  This  is  a  defect  which  it  is  the  business  of  education 
to  surmount  or  diminish.  After  all,  however,  in  some  s;i')- 
jects  no  language  can  adequately  convey  (to  the  inexperi- 
enced at  least)  all  the  indications  -which  iniluence  the  judg- 
ment of  an  acute  and  practised  observer.  And  hence  it  li;is 
been  justly  and  happily  remarked,  that  "  lie  must  be  an 
indiflcrent  physician,  who  never  takes  any  step  for  which  he 
cannot  assign  a  satisfactory  reason." 

To  speak  perfectly  well,  a  man  must  feel  that  he  has  got 
to  the  bottom  of  the  subject ;  and  to  feel  this  on  occasions 
when,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  is  impossible  he  really 
can  have  done  so,  is  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  great 
profundity.  Therefore,  it  may  fairly  be  doubted,  whether  a 
first-rate  man  can  ever  be  a  first-rate  orator,  if  at  least  he  is 
to  be  accounted  such,  who  (as  Cicero  lays  down)  can  speak 
the  best  and  most  persuasively  on  any  subject  whatever  that 
may  arise. 

That  kind  of  skill  by  which,  in  oral  examination  of  wit- 
nesses, a  cross-examiner  succeeds  in  alarming,  misleading, 
or  bewildering  an  honest  witness,  may  be  characterized  as 
the  most,  or  one  of  the  most,  base  and  depraved  of  all  pos- 
sible employments  of  intellectual  poAvcr.  Nor  is  it  by  any 
means  the  best  mode  of  eliciting  truth.  Generally  speaking, 
a  quiet,  gentle,  and  straightforward,  though  full  and  careful, 
examination,  will  be  the  most  adapted  to  elicit  truth ;  and 
the  manoeuvres,  and  the  brow-beating,  which  are  the  most 
adapted  to  confuse  :in  lionest,  simple-minded,  witness,  are 
just  what  tlie  dishonest  one  is  the  best  })repared  for.  The 
more  the  storm  blusters,  the  more  carefully  lie  wraps  round 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  203 

l)Im  tlic  cloak,  -wliicli  a  warm  sunshine  will  often  induce  liim 
to  throw  off. 

It  is  no  uncommon  manoeuvre  of  a  dexterous  sophist,  when 
tliere  is  some  argument,  statement,  scheme,  &c.,  which  he 
cannot  directly  defeat,  to  assent  with  seeming  cordiality,  but 
Avith  some  exception,  addition,  or  qualification,  (as  e.  </.,  an 
additional  clause  in  an  act),  which,  though  seemingly  unim- 
portant, shall  entirely  nullify  all  the  rest.  This  has  been 
humorously  compared  to  the  trick  of  the  pilgrim,  in  the 
well-known  tale,  who  "  took  the  liberty  to  boil  his  peas." 

It  is  not  only  the  fairest,  but  also  the  wisest,  plan  for  an 
advocate  to  state  objections  in  their  full  force.  It  is  but  a 
momentary  and  ineffective  triumph  that  can  be  obtained  by 
manoeuvres  like  those  of  Turnus's  charioteer,  who  furiously 
chased  the  feeble  stragglers  of  the  army,  and  evaded  the 
main  front  of  the  battle. 

Gibbon  affords  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  that  kind 
of  style,  in  which  the  assumption  of  the  point  in  question  is 
never  stated  distinctly,  but  some  other  proposition  inserted 
which  implies  it.  He  keeps  it  out  of  sight  (as  a  dexterous 
thief  does  stolen  goods),  at  the  very  moment  he  is  taking  it 
for  granted.  His  Avay  of  writing  reminds  one  of  those 
persons  who  never  dare  look  you  full  in  the  face. 

That  style  which  is  composed  chiefly  of  the  words  of 
French  origin,  while  it  is  less  intelligible  to  the  lowest  classes, 
is  characteristic  of  those  who,  in  cultivation  of  taste,  are 
below  the  highest.  As  in  dress,  furniture,  deportment,  &c., 
so  also  in  language,  the  dread  of  vulgarity,  constantly 
besetting   those   who   are   half  conscious   that  they  are  in 


204  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS. 

danger  of  it,  drives  them  into  the  opposite  extreme  of  affected 
finery. 

Words  derived  from  the  Saxon  are  better  understood  by 
the  lower  orders  of  the  English  than  those  derived  from  the 
Latin  (either  directly  or  through  the  medium  of  the  French), 
even  -when  the  latter  are  more  in  use  among  persons  of 
education.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  is,  that  while  the 
children  of  the  higher  classes  always  call  their  parents 
"Papa!"  and  "Mamma!"  the  children  of  the  peasantry 
usually  call  them  by  the  titles  of  "Father  !"  and  "Mother  !" 
For  those  who  wish  to  be  understood  by  them,  there  is  a 
remarkable  scope  for  such  a  choice,  from  the  multitude  of 
synonymes  derived  respectively  from  the  two  elements  of  which 
our  language  is  composed.  The  compilers  of  our  Liturgy, 
being  anxious  to  reach  the  understanding  of  all  classes,  at  a 
time  when  our  language  was  in  a  less  settled  state  than  at 
present,  availed  themselves  of  this  circumstance,  in  employ- 
ing many  synonymous  or  nearly  synonymous  expressions, 
most  of  Avhich  are  of  the  description  just  alluded  to.  Take,  as 
an  instance,  the  Exhortation  :  "  acknowledge"  and  "  confess," 
— "  dissemble"  and  "  cloak,"  —  "  humble,"  and  "  lowly," — 
"goodness"  and  "mercy,"  —  "assemble"  and  "meet 
together. 

Young  writers  of  genius  ought  especially  to  be  admonished 
to  ask  themselves  frequently,  not  whether  this  or  that  is  a 
strikinj  expression,  but  whether  it  makes  the  meaning  mere 
striking  than  another  johrase  would. 

Unpractised  composers  are  apt  to  fancy  that  they  shall 
have  the  greater  abundance  of  matter,  the  wider  extent  of 
subject  they  comprehend ;  but  experience  shows  that  the 
reverse  is  the  fact:  the  more  general  and  extensive  view  v/ill 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  205 

often  suggest  nothing  to  the  mind  but  vague  and  trite 
remarks  ;  when,  upon  narrowing  the  fiekl  of  discussion,  many 
interesting  questions  of  detail  present  themselves.  The 
applying  a  microscope  to  a  small  space,  will  give  to  view 
much  that  a  wider  survey  would  not  have  exhibited. 

Many  writers  have  diminished  the  effect  of  their  works  by 
being  scrupulous  to  admit  nothing  into  them  which  had  not 
some  absolute,  intrinsic,  and  independent  merit.  They  have 
acted  like  those  who  strip  off  the  leaves  of  a  fruit-tree,  as 
being  of  themselves  good  for  nothing,  with  the  view  of 
securing  more  nourishment  to  the  fruit,  Avhich  in  fact  cannot 
attain  its  full  maturity  and  flavour  without  them.  Let  any 
one  cut  out  from  the  Iliad,  or  from  Shakspeare's  plays,  every- 
thing to  which  the  only  objection  is,  its  being  devoid  of  im- 
portance or  of  interest  in  itself ;  and  he  will  find  that  what 
is  left  will  have  lost  more  than  half  its  charms. 

To  attempt  to  make  everything  emphatic  is  to  make 
nothing  emphatic. 

To  brighten  the  dark  parts  of  a  picture  produces  much  the 
same  result  as  if  one  had  darkened  the  bright  parts ;  in 
either  case  there  is  a  want  of  relief  and  contrast ;  and  Com- 
position, as  well  as  Painting,  has  its  lights  and  shades, 
which  must  be  distributed  with  no  less  skill,  if  we  would 
produce  the  desired  effect. 

The  appearance  of  a  too  uniform  elegance  or  stateliness 
of  style,  is  apt  to  clog ;  like  a  piece  of  music  without  any 
discord. 

The  word  '  frigid'  has  been  properly  applied  to  that  stylo, 
in  which  ornaments  that  might  seem  to  border  on  the  poetical, 
18 


206  MISCELLAXEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

are  adopted  in  prose,  because  "we  are,  in  poetical  prose, 
reminded  of,  and  for  that  reason,  disposed  to  miss,  the 
"  -warmth"  and  "  glow"  of  poeti'j.  It  is  on  the  same  princi- 
ple, that  we  are  disposed  to  speak  of  coldness  in  the  rays  of 
the  moon,  because  thej  remind  us  of  sunshine  but  want  its 
warmth;  and  that  (to  use  an  humble  and  more  familiar  in- 
stance) an  empty  fire-place  is  apt  to  suggest  an  idea  of  cold. 

Jolmson's  style,  unfortunately,  is  particularly  easy  of 
imitation,  even  by  Avritcrs  utterly  destitute  of  his  vigour  of 
thought;  and  such  imitators  are  intolerable.  They  bear  the 
same  resemblance  to  their  model,  that  the  armour  of  the 
Cliinese,  as  described  by  travellers,  consisting  of  thick  quilted 
cotton  covered  with  stiff  glazed  paper,  does  to  that  of  the 
ancient  knights ;  equally  glittering  and  bulky,  but  destitute 
of  the  temper  and  firmness  which  was  its  sole  advantage. 

Some  writers  abound  with  a  kind  of  mock-antithesis,  in 
which  tlie  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  sentiment  which  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  first  clause,  is  repeated  in  a  second;  or  at 
least,  in  which  there  is  but  little  of  real  contrast  between  the 
clauses  Avhich  are  expressed  in  a  contrasted  form ;  and  which 
have  been  compared  to  the  false  handles  and  keyholes  with 
which  furniture  is  decorated,  that  serve  no  other  purpose  than 
to  correspond  to  the  real  ones.  Much  of  Dr.  Johnson's 
writings  is  chargeable  with  this  fault. 

Energetic  brevity  is  best  attained  by  Avhat  may  be  called 
a  suggestive  style ;  such,  that  is,  as  without  making  a  distinct, 
though  brief,  mention  of  a  multitude  of  particulars,  shall 
put  the  licarcr's  mind  into  the  same  train  of  thougld  as  the 
speaker's,  and  suggest  to  liini  more  than  is  actually  expressed. 
Such  a  style  may  be  compared  to  a  good  map,  which  marks 
distinctly  the  great  outlines,  setting  down  the  principal  rivers, 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  207 

towns,  mountains,  &c.,  leaving  the  imagination  to  supply  the 
villages,  hillocks,  and  streamlets ;  which,  if  they  were  all 
inserted  in  their  due  proportions,  would  crowd  the  map, 
though,  after  all,  they  could  not  be  discerned  without  a 
microscope. 

As  a  side  view  of  a  faint  star,  or,  especially,  of  a  comet, 
presents  it  in  much  greater  brilliancy  than  a  direct  view ;  so 
by  an  oblique  description,  by  the  introducing  circumstances 
connected  with,  and  aftected  by,  the  main  object,  but  not 
absolutely  forming  part  of  it,  a  more  sti'iking  impression 
shall  be  produced  of  anything  that  is  in  itself  great  and 
remarkable,  than  could  be  produced  by  a  minute  and  direct 
description.  Thus,  the  woman's  application  to  the  king  of 
Samaria,  to  compel  her  neighbour  to  fulfil  the  agreement  of 
sharing  with  her  the  infant's  flesh,  gives  a  more  frightful  im- 
pression of  the  horrors  of  the  famine  than  any  more  direct 
description  could  have  done;  since  it  presents  to  us  the 
picture  of  that  hardening  of  the  heart  to  every  kind  of  horror, 
angl  that  destruction  of  the  ordinary  state  of  human  senti- 
ment, which  is  the  result  of  long  continued  and  extreme 
misery.  Nor  could  any  detail  of  the  particular  vexations  to 
be  suffered  by  the  exiled  Jews  for  their  disobedience,  convey 
so  lively  an  idea  of  them  as  that  description  of  their  result 
contained  in  the  denunciation  of  Moses :  "  In  the  evening 
thou  slialt  say.  Would  God  it  Avere  morning !  and  in  the 
morning  thou  shalt  say.  Would  God  it  were  evening  !" 

In  the  poem  of  Rokeby,  a  striking  exemplification  occurs 
of  what  has  been  said  :  Bertram,  in  describing  the  prowess 
he  had  displayed  as  a  Buccaneer,  does  not  particularise  any 
of  his  exploits,  but  alludes  to  the  terrible  impression  they 
had  left ; 


208  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

"  Panama's  maids  shall  long  look  pale, 
When  llisingham  inspires  the  tale  ; 
Chili's  dark  matrons  long  shall  tamo 
The  frou-ard  child  with  Bertram's  name." 

The  first  of  dramatists,  "who  might  have  been  perhaps  the 
first  of  orators,  has  offered  some  excellent  exemplifications 
of  this  rule ;  especially  in  the  speech  of  Antony  over  Caesar's 
bodv. 

It  is  a  fault,  carefully  to  be  avoided,  to  express  feeling 
more  vehemently  than  that  the  audience  can  go  along  with 
the  speaker ;  who  would,  in  that  case,  as  Cicero  observes, 
seem  like  one  raving  among  the  sane,  or  intoxicated  in  the 
midst  of  the  sober.  And  accordingly,  except  where  from 
extraneous  causes,  the  audience  are  already  in  an  excited 
state,  we  must  carry  them  forward  gradually,  and  allow  time 
for  the  fire  to  kindle.  The  blast  which  would  brighten  a 
strong  flame  would,  if  applied  too  soon,  extinguish  the  first 
faint  spark. 

Almost  every  one  is  aware  of  the  infectious  nature  of  any 
emotion  excited  in  a  large  assembly.  The  power  of  this 
reflex  sympathy  in  increasing  any  feeling  —  whether  pity, 
indignation,  contempt,  bashfulness,  the  sense  of  the  ludi- 
crous, &c. — may  be  compared  to  the  increase  of  sound  by  a 
number  of  echoes ;  or  of  light,  by  a  number  of  mirrors ;  or 
to  the  blaze  of  a  heap  of  firebrands,  each  of  Avhich  would 
speedily  have  gone  out  if  kindled  separately,  but  which  when 
thrown  together,  help  to  kindle  each  other. 

Action,  in  public  speaking,  should  always  precede  some- 
what the  utterance  of  the  words.  That  is  always  the  natural 
order  of  action.     An  emotion,  struggling  for  utterance,  pro- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  209 

duces  a  tendency  to  a  bodily  gesture,  to  express  that  emotion 
more  quickly  than  words  can  be  framed  ;  the  words  follow 
as  soon  as  they  can  be  spoken.  And  this  being  always  the 
case  with  a  real,  earnest,  unstudied  speaker,  this  mode  of 
placing  the  action  foremost,  gives  (if  it  be  otherwise 
appropriate),  the  appearance  of  earnest  emotion  actually 
present  in  the  mind.  And  yet,  boys  are  generally  taught 
to  employ  the  prescribed  action  either  after^  or  during^  the 
utterance  of  the  words  it  is  to  enforce.  This  circumstance 
alone  would  be  sufficient  to  convert  the  action  of  Demos- 
thenes himself  into  a  feeble  aflfectation,  into  unsuccessful 
and  ridiculous  pantomime. 

He  is  usually  regarded  as  a  'powerful  speaker,  who  is  pro- 
claimed as  such  by  all  his  hearers,  in  consequence  of  their 
having  all  admitted,  or  being  ready  to  admit,  his  conclusion, 
and  thence,  affording,  at  least,  no  proof  of  his  power. 

It  is  worth  observing  that  Arguments  from  Example, 
whether  real  or  invented,  are  the  most  easily  comprehended 
by  the  young  and  the  uneducated ;  because  they  facilitate 
the  power  of  abstraction — a  power  which,  in  such  hearers,  is 
usually  the  most  imperfect.  This  mode  of  reasoning  corres- 
ponds to  a  geometrical  demonstration  by  means  of  a  diagram ; 
in  which  the  figure  placed  before  the  learner,  is  an  individual^ 
employed,  as  he  soon  comes  to  perceive,  as  a  ugn^  though 
not  an  arbitrary  sign,  representing  the  whole  class.  The 
words,  written  or  spoken,  of  any  language  are  arbitrary : 
the  characters  of  picture-writing,  or  hieroglyphics,  are  natural 
signs.  The  algebraic  signs,  again,  are  arbitrary ;  each 
character  not  being  itself  an  individual  of  the  class  it  repre- 
sents. These  last  therefore  correspond  to  the  abstract  terms 
of  a  language. 
IS  * 


210  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

The  pleasure  tlerived  from  taking  in  the  autlior's  meaning, 
■when  -an  ingenious  comparison  is  employed,  (referred  by 
Aristotle  to  the  pleasure  of  the  act  of  learning),  is  so  great, 
that  the  reader  or  hearer  is  apt  to  mistake  his  apprehension 
of  this  for  a  perception  of  a  just  and  convincing  analogy. 
The  aptness  and  beauty  of  an  illustration  sometimes  leads 
men  to  overrate,  and  sometimes  to  underrate,  its  force  as  an 
argument. 

Our  Lord's  parables  are  mostly  explanatory  —  introduced 
for  Illustration,  not  for  Argument.  His  discourses,  gene- 
rally speaking,  are  but  little  argumentative.  "  lie  taught  as 
one  having  authority  ;"  stating  and  explaining  bis  doctrines, 
and  referring  for  proof  to  his  actions."  "  The  works  that  I 
do  in  my  Father's  name,  they  bear  "witness  of  me." 

The  non-existence  of  a  case  brought  forward  as  an  illus- 
tration of  our  meaning,  no  more  affects  the  soundness  of  our 
argument  than  the  mistake  of  a  physician,  as  to  the  disorder 
of  a  i)aticnt,  affects  the  fact  that  such  a  disorder  exists. 

I  can  well  sympathize  witli  the  contempt  mingled  with 
indignation  expressed  by  Cicero  against  certain  philosophers, 
who  found  fault  with  Plato  for  having,  in  a  case  he  pi'oposes, 
alluded  to  the  fabulous  ring  of  Gyges,  which  had  the  virtue 
of  making  the  wearer  invisible.  They  had  found  out,  it 
seems,  that  there  never  was  any  such  ring. 

The  Arrangement  of  Arguments  is  not  perhaps  of  less 
conscfiuence  in  Composition  than  in  the  Military  Art ;  in 
which  it  is  well  known,  that  with  an  equality  of  forces,  in 
numbers,  courage,  and  every  other  point,  the  manner  in 
Avhich  they  are  drawn  up,  so  as  either  to  afford  mutual  sup- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  211 

port,  or  on  the  other  hand,  even  to  impede  and  annoy  each 
other,  may  make  the  difference  of  victory  or  defeat. 

E.  Cr.  In  the  statement  of  the  Evidences  of  our  Religion, 
so  as  to  give  them  their  just  weight,  much  depends  on  the 
Order  in  which  they  are  placed.  The  Antecedent  probahility 
that  a  Revelation  should  be  given  to  Man,  and  that  it  should 
be  established  by  miracles,  all  would  allow  to  be,  considered 
by  itself,  in  the  absence  of  strong,  direct  testimony,  utterly 
insufficient  to  establish  the  conclusion.  On  the  other  hand, 
miracles  considered  abstractedly,  as  represented  to  have 
occurred,  without  any  occasion  or  reason  for  them  being 
assigned,  carry  with  them  such  a  strong,  intrinsic  improba- 
bility as  could  not  be  wholly  surmounted  even  by  such 
evidence  as  would  fully  establish  any  other  matters  of  fact. 
But  the  evidences  of  the  former  class,  however  ineflicient 
alone  towards  the  establishment  of  the  conclusion,  have  very 
great  weight  in  preparing  the  mind  for  receiving  the  other 
arguments ;  which  again,  though  they  would  be  listened  to 
with  prejudice  if  not  so  supported,  will  then  be  allowed  their 
just  weight.  The  writers  in  defence  of  Christianity  have 
not  always  attended  to  this  principle  ;  and  their  opponents 
have  often  availed  themselves  of  the  knowledge  of  it,  by 
combating  in  detail,  arguments,  the  combined  force  of  Avhich 
would  have  been  irresistible.  If  any  one  out  of  a  hundred 
men  throw  a  stone  which  strikes  a  certain  object,  there  is 
but  a  slight  probability,  from  that  fact  alone,  that  he  aimed 
at  that  object ;  but  if  all  the  hundred  threw  stones  which 
struck  the  same  object,  no  one  would  doubt  that  they  aimed 
at  it.  It  is  from  such  a  combination  of  argument  that  we 
infer  the  existence  of  an  intelligent  Creator,  from  the  marks 
of  contrivance  visible  in  the  universe,  though  many  of  these 
are  such  as,  taken  singl^^  might  well  bo  conceived  undesigned 
and  accidental ;  but  that  they  should  all  be  such  is  morally 


212  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

impossible.  Yet  opponents  argue  respecting  the  credibility 
of  the  Christian  miracles  abstractedly,  as  if  they  were  insu- 
lated occurrences,  without  any  known  or  conceivable  pur- 
pose;  as  e.g.,  what  testimony  is  sufficient  to  establish'  the 
belief  that  a  dead  man  was  restored  to  life?"  And  then 
they  proceed  to  show  that  the  probability  of  a  Revelation, 
abstractedly  considered,  is  not  such  at  least  as  to  establish  the 
fact  that  one  has  been  given.  Whereas,  if  it  were  first  proved 
(as  may  easily  be  done)  merely  that  there  is  no  such  abstract 
improbability  of  a  Revelation  as  to  exclude  the  evidence  in 
favour  of  it,  and  that  if  one  ivere  given,  it  must  be  expected 
to  be  supported  by  miraculous  evidence,  then,  just  enough 
reason  would  be  assigned  for  the  occurrence  of  miracles,  not 
indeed  to  establish  them,  but  to  allow  a  fair  hearing  for  the 
arguments  by  which  they  arc  proved. 

A  great  advantage  in  the  arrangement  of  arguments,  is 
possessed  by  the  speaker  over  the  writer.  The  speaker  com- 
pels his  hearers  to  consider  the  several  points  brought  before 
them,  in  the  order  which  he  thinks  best.  Readers,  on  the 
contrary,  will  sometimes,  by  dipping  into  a  book,  or  examin- 
ing the  table  of  contents,  light  on  something  so  revolting  to 
some  prejudice,  that  though  they  might  have  admitted  the 
proofs  of  it,  if  they  had  read  it  in  the  order  designed,  they 
may  at  once  close  the  book  in  disgust. 

The  arrangement  of  Words  is  of  no  little  importance  to 
style.  It  is  like  the  proper  distribution  of  the  lights  in  a 
picture  ;  which  is  hardly  of  less  consequence  than  the  correct 
and  lively  representation  of  the  objects. 

It  is  no  uncommon  trick  with  some  writers,  by  the  inven- 
tion and  adoption  of  complete  new  sets  of  technical  terms. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  213 

to  pass  off  long-known  truths  for  prodigious  discoveries,  and 
gain  the  credit  of  universal  originality  by  the  boldness  of 
their  innovations  in  language ;  like  some  voyagers  of  dis- 
covery, who  take  possession  of  countries,  whether  before 
visited  or  not,  by  formally  giving  them  new  names. 

By  a  multiplicity  of  words,  the  sentiment,  like  David  in 
Saul's  armour,  is  incumbered  and  oppressed. 

The  completeness  of  a  library  does  not  consist  in  the 
number  of  volumes,  especially  if  many  of  thein  are  dupli- 
cates, but  in  its  containing  copies  of  each  of  the  most 
valuable  works.  Nor  Avas  Lucullus's  wardrobe,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Horace,  boasted  five  thousand  mantles,  necessarily 
well-stocked,  if  other  articles  of  dress  were  wanting.  And 
in  like  manner,  true  copiousness  of  language  consists,  not  in 
a  multitude  of  synonyms  and  circumlocutions,  but  in  having 
at  command,  as  far  as  possible,  a  suitable  expression  for 
each  different  modification  of  thought.  The  greater  our 
command  of  language,  the  more  concisely  we  shall  be  enabled 
to  write. 

Many  a  speaker  is  lauded  as  "  having  a  fine  command  of 
language,"  of  whom  it  might  better  be  said,  that  "his  Ian-' 
guage  has  a  command  of  him."     He  has  the  same  "  com- 
mand of  language"  that  a  rider  has  of  a  horse  that  is  running 
away  with  him. 

The  censure  of  frequent  and  long  parentheses,  has  led 
writers  into  the  preposterous  expedient  of  leaving  out  the 
marks  by  which  they  are  indicated.  It  is  no  cure  to  a  lame 
man  to  take  away  his  crutches. 


214  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

Fine  writinfr  ought  not  to  be  looked  for  in  the  treatment 
of  scientific  subjects.  There  is  a  neatness,  indeed,  and  a 
sort  of  beauty  resulting  from  the  appearance  of  healthful 
vigour  in  a  well-tilled  corn-field ;  but  one  -which  is  overspread 
•with  blue  and  red  flowers,  gives  no  great  promise  of  a  crop. 

Pope's  rhymes  too  often  supply  the  defect  of  his  reasons. 

"What  is  said  of  human  approbation  as  compared  -with  in- 
trinsic rectitude  —  that  it  is  a  very  good  thing  when  it  hap- 
pens to  come  incidentally,  but  must  never  be  made  an  object 
— may  be  said  of  forcible  or  elegant  expressions  as  compared 
with  Truth.  The  desire  of  Truth  must  reign  supreme,  and 
everything  else  be  welcomed  only  if  coming  in  her  train. 

When  the  moon  shines  brightly,  we  are  apt  to  say,  "  Plow 
beautiful  is  this  moon-light!" — but  in  the  daytime,  "How 
beautiful  are  the  trees,  the  fields,  the  mountains  !"  —  and,  in 
short,  all  objects  that  are  illuminated  :  we  never  speak  of  the 
sun  that  makes  them  so.  Just  so,  the  really  greatest  orator 
shines  like  the  sun,  making  you  think  much  of  the  things  he 
is  speaking  of;  tlie  second-best  shines  like  the  moon,  making 
you  think  much  of  hi7n  and  his  eloquence. 

Without  undertaking  to  maintain,  like  Quintilian,  that  no 
one  can  be  an  orator  Avho  is  not  a  virtuous  man,  yet,  as  the 
orator  is  bound  as  such,  on  rhetorical  principles,  to  be  ex- 
clusively intent  on  carrying  his  poirit,  there  certainly  is  a 
kind  of  moral  excellence  implied  in  that  renunciation  of  all 
effort  to  gain  approbation,  or  even  avoid  censure,  except  with 
a  view  to  that  point, — in  that  forgetfulncss  of  self,  which  is 
absolutely  necessary,  both  in  the  manner  of  writing,  and  in 
the  delivci-y,  to  give  the  full  force  to  what  is  said.     The 


MISCELBANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  215 

orator  slioulJ  adopt  as  bis  niotlo  the  reply  of  Themistocles, 
— "  Strike,  but  bear  me." 

Men  of  uncultivated  minds  generally  admire  tbe  profundity 
of  what  is  mystical  and  obscure  —  mistaking  the  muddiness 
of  the  water  for  depth,  and  magnifying  in  their  imagination 
what  is  seen  through  a  fog.  But  this  tendency  becomes  a 
grave  evil,  when  this  cloudy  style  is  made  use  of,  as  it  now 
is,  by  modern  infidels,  to  conceal  from  the  unwary  the  fact 
of  their  being  decidedly  anti-christian.  The  dark  sayings 
of  such  writers  may  be  compared  to  a  fog-bank  at 'sea,  which 
the  mariner,  at  first  glance,  takes  for  a  chain  of  majestic 
mountairvg,  but  which,  Avhen  he  turns  his  glass  upon  it,  proves 
nothing  more  than  a  heap  of  noxious  vapours. 

The  taste  of  many,  in  the  present  day,  sets  very  strongly 
in  favour  of  a  sort  of  mystical  sublimity, — of  a  style  full  of 
high-sounding  words,  sometimes  hardly  English,  —  which 
dimly  expresses,  or  obscurely  hints  at,  doctrines  supposed  to 
be  above  the  reach  of  ordinary  mortals,  and  such  as  ordinary 
language  could  not  express  at  all.  And  such  a  style  is 
admired,  not  only  as  very  eloquent, — not  only  as  displaying 
originality  of  genius, — but  as  highly  ^^ j'hilosophical," and  as 
placing  the  writer  far  above  any  one  who  condescends  to  be 
"practical,"  that  is,  who  writes  so  that  his  hearers  may  un- 
derstand distinctly  what  he  says,  and  learn  something  from 
it,  and  become  the  wiser  or  the  better  for  it. 

"A  fico  fur  the  world,"  (says  Ancient  Pistol) 
"  and  wordlings  base  ! 
I  speak  of  Africa  and  golden  joys." 

Thus  the  gorgeous  visions  which  floated  before  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  alchemists,  of  the  philosophers'  stone  and  the 


216  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

iinivcrsjil  medicine,  made  them  regard,  with  impatient  scorn, 
the  humble  hibours  of  metalhirgy  and  pharmacy. 

And  it  is  not,  as  might  at  first  sight  bo  supposed,  that  men 
are,  in  each  case,  led  by  their  favourite  writers  to  mistake 
falsehood  for  truth.  The  fault  lies  deeper.  Truth  —  -which 
used  to  be  regarded  as  the  first  point,  in  all  Philosophy, — is, 
according  to  this  new  school,  a  matter  of  secondary  considera- 
tiun.  The  ingenious,  the  splendid,  the  original,  the  "poetic 
and  ideal"  —  everything  that  may  enable  a  man  to  be  the 
"founder  of  a  school,"  by  dazzling  a  host  of  idolizing 
followers,  and  converting  (to  use  Bacon's  language),  his  own 
"  Idola  Species"  into  "  Idola  Theatri" — all  this  is  regarded 
as  more  philosophical  than  the  attainment  of  Tri^th ;  and 
high  encomiums  are  actually  lavished  on  "  the  freshness  of 
spirit,  and  breadth  of  view"  of  a  writer's  religious  specula- 
tions, even  tvhen  erroneous  ? 

Now  if,  even  in  what  relates  to  revealed  religion,  to  that 
which  comes  from  the  Most  High,  and  which  concerns  man's 
eternal  welfare,  —  if  in  these  matters.  Truth  is  regarded  as 
of  less  account  than  "glorious  imaginations"  and  "eloquent 
sublimity," — we  may  well  expect  that,  in  all  other  subjects, 
the  striking  and  showy  will  be  more  thought  of,  than  the 
right  and  true  ;  and  that  Poetry  and  Oratory  will  not  merely 
be  preferred  to  Philosophy,  but  will  usurp  her  place  and 
assume  her  name. 

It  may  always  be  anticipated  that  Truth  when  it  is  once 
understood,  and  when  it  is  allowed  on  which  side  it  lies,  will 
before  long  prevail.  Error,  on  any  point,  may  indeed  bear 
rule  for  any  length  of  time,  while  undetected  ;  but  when  its 
real  character  is  fully  exposed,  the  days  of  its  reign  are  num- 
bered. Not  that  its  practical  overthrow  is  even  then  imme- 
diate.    Sound   princi]des    must    not   only  be    brought   into 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  217 

notice,  and  clearly  explained,  but  must  be  allowed  some  time 
to  become  familiar  to  men's  minds,  before  they  will  be  acted 
on.  The  words  which  Shakspeare  puts  into  the  mouth  of 
Dogberry,  probably  in  mere  sport,  may  be  taken  as  a  correct 
description  of  what  actually  takes  place  in  many  departments 
of  life.  "  It  hath  been  -proved  already  that  you  are  stark 
knaves;  and  it  will  go  near  to  be  thought  so  shortly." 

It  often  happens  that,  before  a  popular  audience,  a  greater 
degree  of  skill  is  requisite  for  maintaining  the  cause  of  truth 
than  of  falsehood,  from  the  difficulty  of  exhibiting,  in  their 
full  strength,  the  delicate  distinctions  on  which  truth  some- 
times depends. 

Many  are  misled  by  their  admiration  of  what  is  called  a 
poiverful  discourse,  forgetting  that  that  is  the  most  powerful 
which  best  effects  the  object  -proposed.  Tlie  power  of  a 
sample  of  gunpowder,  or  of  a  piece  of  ordnance,  is  tested, 
not  by  the  loudness  of  the  report,  but  by  the  depth  of  the 
impression  made  on  the  target. 

Many  a  meandering  discourse  one  hears,  in  which  the 
preacher  aims  at  nothing,  and — hits  it. 

"Words,"  says  Ilobbes,  "are  the  counters  of  wise  men, 
and  the  money  of  fools."  Hence,  the  latter  can  never  dis- 
tinguish a  verbal,  from  a  real,  question. 

The  true  meaning  of  a  word,  is  that  Avhich  it  expresses ; 
and  the  right  name  of  a  thing,  is  that  which  it  is  called  by. 

One    of  the    most    common  sources  of  dissension,  is  the 
mistaking  the  meaning  of  others ;  and  hence,  the  word  rnis- 
undcr standing  is  applied  to  disagreements  in  general. 
19 


218  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

All  men,  except  idiots,  reason  in  some  sort  or  another, 
consciously  or  unconscionsly  —  many  being  in  the  condition 
of  Moliere's  Bourgeois  GentiUtoinme,  who  had  been  talking 
prose  all  his  life,  without  knowing  it.  Now  what  most  men 
will  do,  whether  well  or  ill,  it  must  be  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance they  should  be  qualified  for  doing  Avell. 

As  it  is  an  advantage  in  algebraical  calculations,  to  employ 
a  letter  of  the  alphabet,  as  a  symbol  to  denote  some  unknown 
quantity,  while  remembering,  that  this  does  not  make  it  be- 
come at  once  a  knoivn  quantity ;  so  it  is  a  convenience,  to 
affix  names  to  our  own  indistinct  and  imperfect  notions,  pro- 
vided, when  grown  familiar  with  these  names,  we  do  not  for- 
jret  how  little  we  know  of  the  things  themselves. 

Lonjx  and  habitual  attention  to  the  different  meanings  of 
the  same  word,  and  assiduous  vigilance  in  the  use  of  it,  are 
necessary  to  prevent  our  sliding  insensibly  from  one  meaning 
into  another,  and  fancying  that  we  are  still  speaking  of  the 
same  thing,  because  we  are  employing  the  same  sound. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  words  whose  ambiguity  is  the 
most  frequently  overlooked,  and  is  productive  of  the  greatest 
amount  of  confusion  of  thought  and  fallacy,  are  among  the 
commonest,  and  arc  those  of  whose  meaning  the  generality 
consider  there  is  the  least  room  to  doubt.  Familiar  ac- 
quaintance is  perpetually  mistaken  for  accurate  knowledge. 

There  is  no  mistake  more  common  than  the  mistake  of  the 
unquestioned  for  the  unquestionable. 

The  ambiguity  in  all  languages  of  almost  all  the  words  re- 
lating to  the  Physical  Cause  and  the  Logical  Proof  of  any- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPUTUEGMS.  219 

tiling,  lias  produced  incalculable  confusion  of  tliouglit,  jind 
from  wliicli  it  is  the  harder  to  escape,  on  account  of  its  ex- 
tending to  those  very  forms  of  expression,  which  are  intro- 
duced to  clear  it  up. 

" Chaos  umpire  sits, 

And  by  deciding,  worse  embroils  the  fray." 

To  cease  to  use  words  in  their  transferred  sense,  from  the 
primary  to  the  secondary,  would,  if  it  were  desirable,  be 
utterly  impracticable ;  but  there  cannot  be  too  great  atten- 
tion to  the  ambiguity  thus  introduced,  nor  too  constant 
watchfulness  against  the  errors  thence  arising.  '  It  is  with 
words  as  with  money.''  Those  who  know  the  value  of  it  best 
are  not  therefore  the  least  liberal.  AYe  may  lend  readily 
and  largely ;  and  though  this  be  done  quietly  and  without  os- 
tentation, there  is  no  harm  in  keeping  an  exact  account  in 
our  private  memorandum-book,  of  the  sums,  the  persons,  and 
the  occasions  on  which  they  were  lent.  It  may  be,  we  shall 
want  them  again  for  our  own  use ;  or  they  may  be  employed 
by  the  borrower  for  a  wrong  purpose  ;  or  they  may  have  been 
so  long  in  bis  possession,  that  he  begins  to  look  upon  them  as 
his  own.  In  either  of  which  cases,  it  is  allowable,  and  even 
right,  to  call  them  in. 

All  use  is  not  the  standard  for  a  word,  but  good  use. 
Those  who  have  a  right  of  suffrage  in  this  matter  are,  first, 
educated  people  ;  —  secondly,  those  who  arc  careful  in  their 
use  of  language,  —  yet,  thirdly,  free  from  affectation;  — 
fourthly,  having  no  particular  theory  (like  Home  Tooke's) 
on  the  subject  of  language,  — nor,  fifthly,  on  the  subject  to 
which  the  terms  in  question  belong ;  —  sixthly,  the  appeal 
must  be  made  to  their  intentional  and  established  practice, 
not  to  their  occasional   and   incidental   deviations  from  it. 


220  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTnEQMS. 

Arguments  from  analogy,  convenience,  etymology,  &c.,  are, 
in  this  matter,  to  be  tlicn  only  listened  to,  when  use  is  doubt- 
ful or  indift'ercnt :  they  are  like  the  counsellors  of  a  despotj 
whose  office  is  to  sway  his  deliberations  when  he  is  in  doubt, 
but  not  to  oppose  his  decisions. 

Nothing,  perhaps,  has  contributed  more  to  the  error  of 
Realism  than  inattention  to  the  ambiguity  of  the  word 
"Same,"  which  is  employed  to  denote  great  similarity;  a 
sense  very  different  from  its  primary  one,  as  applicable  to  a 
single  object.  When  scAxral  persons  are  said  to  have  One 
and  the  Same  opinion — thought — or  idea, — many  men,  over- 
looking the  true  simple  statement  of  the  case,  which  is,  that 
they  are  all  thinJcing  alike,  look  for  something  more  abstruse 
and  mystical,  and  imagine  there  must  be  some  one  thing,  in 
the  primary  sense,  though  not  an  individual,  w"hich  is  present 
at  once  in  the  mind  of  each  of  these  persons :  and  thence 
readily  sprung  Plato's  theory  of  ideas ;  each  of  which  was, 
according  to  him,  one  real,  eternal,  object,  existing  entire 
and  complete  in  each  of  the  individual  objects  that  are 
known  l)y  one  name.  Hence,  first  in  poetical  mythology, 
and  ultimately,  perhaps,  in  popular  belief,  Fortune,  Liberty, 
Prudence  (Minerva),  a  boundary  (Terminus),  and  even  the 
Mildew  of  corn  (Rubigo),  &c.,  became  personified,  deified, 
and  represented  by  statues ;  somewhat  according  to  the  pro- 
cess which  is  described  by  Swift,  in  his  humorous  manner,  in 
speaking  of  Zeal  (in  the  Tale  of  a  Tuh\  "  how  from  a  notion 
it  became  a  word,  and  from  thence,  in  a  hot  summer, 
ripened  into  a  tangible  substance."  An  old  story  is  told  of 
a  learned  gentleman,  who,  despising  female  intellect,  lent  to 
a  lady,  as  a  joke,  Locke's  Essay.  "When  she  returned  it,  he 
asked  her  Avhat  she  thought  of  it :  she  replied  that  there 
seemed  to  her  very  many  good  things  in  it,  but  there  Avas 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOrilTlIEGMS.  221 

one  Avorcl  slic  did  not  clearly  understand  —  the  Avord  idea  (as 
she  pronounced  it,  "wliich,  by  the  way,  is  just  as  we  do  pro- 
nounce it  in  the  original  Greek) ;  he  told  her  it  was  the 
feminine  of  "idiot."  Now  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether 
the  learned  gentleman,  or  Locke  himself,  understood  in  what 
sense  he  used  the  word,  any  more  than  the  lady ;  only,  that 
she  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  that  she  did  not. 

Whatever  personal  identity  does  consist  in,  it  is  plain  that 
it  has  no  necessary  connexion  with  similarity ;  since,  when 
we  say  of  any  man  that  he  is  greatly  altered  since  such  a 
time,  we  understand,  and  indeed  imply,  by  the  very  expres- 
sion, that  he  is  one  person,  though  difterent  in  several 
qualities ;  else  it  would  not  be  he.  Every  one  would  be 
ready  to  say,  "  When  I  was  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child,  I 
spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child ;  but  when  I  became 
a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things." 

The  ambiguity  of  the  word  "plain"  has,  probably,  pro- 
duced many  indifferent  sermons.  A  young  divine  perceives 
the  truth  of  the  maxim,  that  "  for  the  lower  orders  one's 
language  cannot  be  too  plain"  (that  is,  cleaj'  and  perspicu- 
ous, so  as  to  require  no  learning  nor  ingenuity  to  understand 
it):  and  when  he  proceeds  to  practice,  the  word  "plain" 
indistinctly  flits  before  him,  as  it  Avere,  and  often  checks  him 
in  the  use  of  ornaments  of  style,  such  as  metaphor,  epithet, 
and  antithesis,  &c.,  which  are  opposed  to  '  plainness'  in  a 
totally  different  sense  of  the  word ;  being  by  no  means 
necessarily  adverse  to  perspicuity,  but  rather,  in  many  cases, 
conducive  to  it ;  as  may  be  seen  in  several  of  the  clearest  of 
our  Lord's  discourses,  which  are  the  very  ones  that  are 
the  most  richly  adorned  with  figurative  language.  This 
ambiguity  often  causes  men  to  write  in  a  dry  and  bald  style, 
19  * 


222  MISCELLANEOUS   APOrilTIIEGMS. 

which  lias  no  advantage  in  point  of  perspicuity,  and  is  least 
of  all  suited  to  the  taste  of  the  vulgar,  -who  are  pleased  mih 
an  ornamental  style,  even  in  excess. 

The  word  '  Contingent,'  though  applied  to  events  only,  not 
to  persons,  yet  denotes  no  quality  in  the  events  themselves, 
only  the  relation  in  wliich  they  stand  to  a  person,  who  has 
no  complete  knowledge  concerning  them.  For  the  same 
thing  may  be,  at  the  same  time,  both  certain  and  uncertain 
to  diflcrent  individuals;  e.g.,  the  life  or  death  at  a  particular 
time  of  any  one  is  certain  to  his  friends  on  the  spot ;  uncer- 
tain or  contingent  to  those  at  a  distance.  It  is  from  over- 
looking this  principle,  obvious  as  it  is  when  once  distinctly 
stated,'  that  Chance  or  Fortune  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
real  agent,  and  to  have  been  by  the  ancients  personified  as  a 
goddess  and  represented  by  statues. 

An  undetected  ambiguity  in  the  word  '  tendency'  has  led 
to  the  doctrine,  as  mischievous  as  it  is,  I  conceive,  unfounded, 
that  since  there  is  a  tendency  in  population  to  increase  faster 
than  the  means  of  subsistence,  hence,  the  pressure  of  popu- 
lation against  subsistence  may  be  expected  to  become  greater 
and  greater  in  each  sucessive  generation,  (unless  hew  and 
extraordinary  remedies  are  resorted  to,)  and  thus  to  produce 
a  progressive  diminution  of  human  welfare  ;  —  whereas,  it  is 
well  known,  that  all  civilized  countries  have  a  greater  pro- 
portionate amount  of  wealth,  now,  than  formerly.  By  a 
"tendency"  towards  a  certain  result  is  sometimes  meant 
"  the  existence  of  a  cause  which,  if  operating  umnij^eded, 
would  produce  that  result."  In  this  sense,  it  may  be  said 
with  truth  that  the  earth,  or  any  other  body  moving  round  a 
centre,  has  a  tendencg  to  liy  off  at  a  tangent,  ^.  e.,  the  cen- 
trifugal force  operates  in  tliat  direction,  though  it  is  controlled 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  223 

by  the  centripetal.  But  sometimes  again  "  a  tendency 
towards  a  certain  result"  is  understood  to  mean  the  existence 
of  such  a  state  of  things  that  that  result  7nay  he  expected  to 
take  place."  Now  it  is  in  these  two  senses  that  the  word  is 
used  in  the  two  premises  of  the  argument  in  question. 
But  in  this  latter  sense  the  earth  has  a  greater  tendency  to 
remain  in  its  orbit  than  to  fly  off  from  it ;  and  (as  may  bo 
proved  by  comparing  a  more  barbarous  with  a  more  civilized 
period  in  the  history  of  any  country)  in  the  progress  of 
society,  subsistence  has  a  tendency  to  increase  at  a  greater 
rate  than  population.  In  Great  Britain,  for  instance,  much 
as  the  population  has  increased  within  the  last  five  centuries, 
it  yet  bears  a  less  ratio  to  subsistence  (though  still  a  much 
greater  than  could  be  wished)  than  it  did  five  hundred  years 
ago. 

It  is  a  common  logical  error,  to  suppose  that  Avhat  usually 
belongs  to  the  thing  is  implied  by  the  usual  sense  of  the 
word.  Although  most  noblemen  possess  large  estates,  the 
word  '  nobleman'  does  not  imply  the  possession  of  a  large 
estate.  Although  most  birds  can  fly,  the  ordinary  use  of 
the  term  '  bird'  does  not  imply  this ;  since  the  penguin  and 
the  ostrich  are  always  admitted  to  be  birds.  And  though,  in 
a  great  majority  of  cases,  it  so  happens,  by  the  appointment 
of  Providence,  that  wealth  is  acquired  by  labour,  the  ordinary 
use  of  the  word  '  wealth'  does  not  include  this  circumstance ; 
since  every  one  would  call  a  pearl  an  article  of  wealth,  even 
though  a  man  should  chance  to  meet  with  it  in  eating  an 
oyster.  It  is  not  that  pearls  fetch  a  high  price  because  men 
have  dived  for  them ;  but,  on  the  contrai-y,  men  dive  for 
them  because  they  fetch  a  high  price. 

There  are  two  different  applications  of  the  word  'Experi- 


221  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTUEQMS. 

cncc,'  •wliicli,  Avlicn  not  carefully  distinguished,  lead  in  prac- 
tice to  the  same  confusion  as  the  employment  of  it  in  two 
senses :  viz.,  v,c  sometimes  understand  oiw  own  personal 
Experience,  sometimes  General  Experience.  Hume  has 
availed  himself  of  this  (practical)  ambiguity,  in  his  Essay  on 
Miracles  ;  in  which  he  observes,  that  we  have  Experience  of 
the  frequent  falsity  of  testimony;  but  that  the  occurrence 
of  a  Miracle  is  contrary  to  our  Experience,  and  is  conse- 
quently what  no  testimony  ought  to  be  allowed  to  establish. 
Now  had  he  explained  whose  Experience  he  meant,  the  argu- 
ment would  have  come  to  nothing :  if  he  means  the  Experi- 
ence of  mankind  universally,  that  is,  that  a  Miracle  has  never 
come  under  the  experience  of  any  one;  this  is  palpably 
begging  the  question :  if  he  means  the  experience  of  each 
individual  who  has  never  himself  witnessed  a  miracle,  this 
would  establish  a  rule  (viz.,  that  we  are  to  believe  nothing  of 
which  Ave  have  not  ourselves  experienced  the  like),  which  it 
would  argue  insanity  to  act  upon.  Not  only  was  the  king 
of  Bantam  justified,  (as  Hume  himself  admits)  in  listening 
to  no  evidence  for  the  existence  of  Ice,  but  no  one  would  be 
authorized,  on  this  principle,  to  expect  his  own  death :  his 
experience  informs  him,  directly,  only  that  others  have  died, 
while  every  disease  under  which  he  himself  may  have  laboured 
his  experience  tells  him  has  not  terminated  fatally ;  if  he  is 
to  judge  strictly  of  the  future  by  the  past,  according  to  this 
rule,  what  should  hinder  him  from  expecting  the  like  of  all 
future  diseases  ? 

ISIuch  sophistry  has  been  foimded  on  the  neglect  of  the 
distinction  between  three  senses  of  the  word  "Impossibility," 
—  or  three  kinds  of  Impossibilities,  the  mathematical,  the 
physical,  and  the  moral.  A  mathematical  impossibility  is 
that  which  involves  an  absurdity  and  a    self-contradiction ; 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  225 

Avliich  may  be  called  a  mathematical  impossibility,  being 
iiTCConcilablc  "with  propositions,  the  truth  of  which  is  neces- 
sary and  eternal ;  since  it  amounts  only  to  a  conformity  to 
the  hypothesis  we  set  out  with.  Every  such  Impossibility 
must  be  implied  —  though  we  may  not  perceive  it  —  in  the 
terms  employed,  —  in  short,  it  must  be  properly  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms.  For  instance,  that  two  straight  lines  should 
enclose  a  space,  is  not  only  impossible  but  inconceivable,  as 
it  would  be  at  variance  Avith  the  definition  of  a  straight  line. 
And  it  should  be  observed,  that  inability  to  accomplish  any- 
thing which  is  in  this  sense,  impossible,  implies  no  limitation 
of  ijoioer,  and  is  compatible  even  with  omnipotence,  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word.  If  it  be  proposed,  to  construct  a 
triangle  having  one  of  its  sides  equal  to  the  other  two,  it  is 
not  from  a  defect  of  power  that  we  are  precluded  from  solving 
such  a  problem  as  this ;  since  in  fact  the  problem  is  in  itself 
unmeaning  and  absui'd :  it  is  in  reality,  nothing  that  is 
required  to  be  done. 

Secondly  —  What  may  be  called  a  Physical  Impossibility, 
is  somethino;  at  variance  with  the  existino-  Laws  of  Nature, 

O  0  7 

and  which  consequently  no  Being  subject  to  those  Laws  (as 
we  are)  can  surmount;  but  we  can  easily  conceive  a  Being 
capable  of  bringing  about  what  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
Nature  is  impossible.  For  instance, — To  multiply  five  loaves 
into  food  for  a  multitude,  or  to  walk  on  the  surface  of  the 
waves,  are  things  physically  impossible,  but  imply  no  contra- 
diction ;  on  the  contrary,  we  cannot  but  suppose  that  the 
Being,  if  there  be  such  an  one,  who  created  the  Universe,  *s 
able  to  alter  at  will  the  properties  of  any  of  the  substances 
it  contains.  And  an  occurrence  of  this  character  we  call 
miraculous.  Not  but  that  one  person  may  perform  without 
supernatural  power  Avhat  is  to  another  physically  impossible ; 
as,  for  instance,  a  man  may  lift  a  great  weight,  which  it 


226  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

>voulJ  be  pliYslcally  impossible  for  a  clnld  to  raise ;  because 
it  is  contrary  to  the  Laws  of  Nature  that  a  muscle  of  this 
deirree  of  strength  should  overcome  a  resistance  which  one 
of  that  degree  is  equal  to.  But  if  any  one  perform  what  is 
beyond  his  own  natural  powers,  or  the  natural  powers  of 
Man  universally,  he  has  performed  a  miracle.  Now,  as  has 
been  above  observed,  much  sophistry  has  been  founded  on  the 
neerlect  of  the  distinction  between  these  two  senses.  It  has 
even  been  contended  that  no  evidence  ought  to  induce  a  man 
of  sense  to  admit  that  a  miracle  has  taken  place,  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  a  thing  impossible  to  man ;  in  other  words, 
that  it  is  a  miracle  ;  for  if  it  were  not  a  thing  impossible  to 
man,  there  Avould  be  no  miracle  in  the  case ;  so  that  such  an 
argument  is  palpably  begging  the  question  ;  but  it  has  often 
probably  been  admitted  from  an  indistinct  notion  being  sug- 
gested of  Impossibility  in  the  first  sense ;  in  which  sense 
(viz.,  that  of  self-contradiction)  it  is  admitted  that  no 
evidence  would  justify  belief. 

Thirdly  —  Moral  Impossibility  signifies  only  that  high 
degree  of  improbability  which  leaves  no  room  for  doubt.  In 
this  sense  we  often  call  a  thing  impossible,  which  implies  no 
contradiction,  or  any  violation  of  the  Laws  of  Nature,  but 
•which  yet  Ave  are  rationally  convinced  will  never  occur 
merely  from  the  multitude  of  chances  against  it ;  as,  for 
instance,  that  unloaded  dice  should  turn  up  the  same  faces 
one  hundred  times  successively.  The  performance  of  any- 
thing that  is  morally  impossible  to  a  mere  man,  is  to  be 
reckoned  a  miracle,  as  much  as  if  the  impossibility  were 
physical.  It  is  morally  impossible  for  poor  Jewish  fishermen 
to  have  framed  such  a  system  of  ethical  and  religious  doctrine 
as  the  Gospel  exhibits.  It  is  morally"  impossible  for  a  man 
to  foretell  distant  and  improbable  future  events  with  the 
exactitude  of  many  of  the  prophecies  in  Scripture. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  227 

Hume  disputes  against  miracles  as  contrary  to  the  course 
of  Nature,  whereas,  according  to  him,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  course  of  Nature.  His  scepticism  extends  to  the  Avhole 
external  ^Yorld, —  to  ev'erything  except  the  ideas  or  impres- 
sions on  the  mind  of  the  individual :  so  that  a  miracle  which 
is  believed,  has,  in  that  circumstance  alone,  on  his  principles, 
as  much  reality  as  anything  can  have. 

It  is  not  denial,  but  doubt,  that  is  opposed  to  credulity. 
To  disbelieve  is  to  believe.  And  there  may  be  cases  in  which 
doubt  itself  may  amount  to  the  most  extravagant  incredulity. 
For  instance,  if  any  one  should  "  doubt  whether  there  is  any 
such  country  as  Egypt,"  he  would  be,  in  fact,  believing  this 
most  incredible  proposition, —  that  "  it  is  possible  for  many 
thousands  of  persons  unconnected  with  each  other  to  have 
agreed,  for  successive  ages,  in  bearing  witness  to  the  existence 
of  a  fictitious  country,  without  being  detected,  contradicted, 
or  suspected." 

All  this,  though  self-evident,  is,  in  practice,  frequently 
lost  sight  of:  the  more,  on  account  of  our  employing,  in 
reference  to  the  Christian  religion,  the  words  "Believer  and 
Unbeliever ;"  whence  unthinking  persons  are  led  to  take  for 
granted  that  the  rejection  of  Christianity  implies  a  less  easy 
belief  than  its  reception. 

A  '  Presumption'  in  favour  of  any  supposition,  according 
to  the  most  correct  use  of  the  term,  means  not,  (as  has  been 
sometimes  erroneously  imagined)  a  preponderance  of  proba- 
bility in  its  favour,  but,  such  a  pre-occupation  of  the  ground 
as  implies  that  it  must  stand  good  till  some  sufficient  reason 
is  adduced  against  it ;  in  short,  that  the  Burden  of  Proof  lies 
on  the  side  of  him  who  would  dispute  it.     The  importance 


228  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

of  deciding  on  which  side  lies  the  onus  iirohandi  is  very 
great :  on  the  determination  of  this  question  the  whole 
character  of  a  discussion  will  often  very  much  depend.  A 
body  of  troops  may  bo  perfectly  adequate  to  the  defence  of 
a  fortress  against  any  attack  that  may  be  made  on  it ;  and 
yet,  if,  ignorant  of  the  advantage  they  possess,  they  sally 
forth  into  the  open  field,  they  may  suffer  a  repulse.  At  any 
rate,  even  if  strong  enough  to  act  on  the  offensive,  they 
ought  still  to  keep  possession  of  their  fortress.  In  like 
manner,  if  you  abandon  your  position,  by  suffering  the 
Presumption  on  your  side  to  be  forgotten,  which  is  in  fact 
leaving  out  one  of,  perhaps,  your  strongest  arguments,  you 
may  appear  to  be  making  a  feeble  attack,  instead  of  a  trium- 
phant defence. 

There  is  a  Presumption  in  favour  of  every  existing  insti- 
tution. No  one  is  called  on  (though  he  may  find  it  advisable) 
to  defend  an  existing  institution,  till  some  argument  is 
adduced  against  it  :  and  that  argument  ought  in  fairness  to 
prove,  not  merely  an  actual  inconvenience,  but  the  possibility 
of  a  change  for  the  better. 

Every  book,  again,  as  well  as  person,  ought  to  be  presumed 
harmless  (and  consequently  the  copy-right  protected  by  our 
courts),  till  something  is  proved  against  it. 

There  is  a  "  Presumption  "  against  anything  ^;ara(iox/ca/, 
that  is,  contrary  to  the  prevailing  opinion :  it  may  be  true, 
but  the  Burden  of  Proof  lies  with  him  who  maintains  it ; 
since  men  are  not  expected  to  abandon  the  pervading  belief 
till  some  reason  is  shown.  Hence  it  is,  probably,  that  one 
often  hears  a  charge  of  "paradox  and  nonsense  "  brought 
forward,  as  if  tliere  were  some  close  connexion  between  the 
two.  And,  indeed,  in  our  sense  this  is  the  case ;  for,  to 
those  who  arc  too  dull,  or  too  prejudiced,  to  admit  any  notion 


MISCELLANEOUS    ArOPIITHEGxMS.  229 

at  variance  ■with  those  they  have  heen  used  to  entertain,  that 
may  appear  nonsense,  Avhich,  to  others,  is  sound  sense. 
Thus,  "Christ  crucified"  was  "to  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block"  (paradox),  "  and  to  the  Greeks,  foolishness  ;"  because 
the  one  "  required  a  sign  "  of  a  difierent  kind  from  any  that 
appeared:  and  the  others  "sought  after  wisdom  "  in  their 
schools  of  philosophy. 

Accordingly,  there  was  a  presumption  against  the  Gospel 
in  its  first  announcement.  The  burden  of  proof  lay  with  the 
Jewish  peasant,  who  claimed  to  be  the  promised  Deliverer, 
in  whom  all  the  nations  of  the  Earth  were  to  be  blessed.  No 
one  could  be  fairly  called  on  to  admit  his  pretensions,  till  He 
showed  cause  for  believing  in  Him.  If  He  "  had  not  done 
among  them  the  works  which  none  other  man  did,  they  had 
not  had  sin." 

Now  the  case  is  reversed.  Christianity  exists ;  and  the 
burden  of  proof  lies  plainly  with  him  who  rejects  it ;  Avhich, 
if  it  were  not  established  by  miracles,  demands  an  explana- 
tion of  that  still  greater  miracle — its  having  been  established, 
in  defiance  of  all  opposition,  by  human  contrivance.  It  is 
indeed  highly  expedient,  to  bring  forward  more  proofs  of  the 
divine  origin  of  Christianity  than  may  fairly  be  demanded 
of  you ;  but  it  is  always  desirable  that  it  should  be  known, 
that  all  this  is  an  argument  ex  ahundanti  —  over  and  above 
what  can  fairly  be  called  for — and  the  strength  of  the  cause 
should  be  estimated  accordingly. 

In  the  case  of  any  doctrines  professing  to  be  essential  parts 
of  the  Gospel-revelation,  the  fair  presumption  is,  that  we 
shall  find  all  such  distinctly  declared  in  Scripture.  If  any 
one  maintains,  on  the  ground  of  tradition,  the  necessity  of 
some  additional  article  of  faith,  (as,  for  instance,  that  of 
purgatory),  or  the  propriety  of  a  departure  from  the  New 
20 


230  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTHEGMS. 

Testament  precepts  (as,  for  instance,  in  the  denial  of  the  cup 
to  the  Laity  in  the  Eucharist),  the  burden  of  i)roof  lies  with 
him.  We  are  not  called  on  to  prove  that  there  is  no  tradi- 
tion to  the  purpose  ; — much  less,  that  no  tradition  can  have 
any  weight  at  all  in  any  case.  It  is  for  liim  to  prove,  not 
merely  generally,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  tradition,  and 
that  it  is  entitled  to  respect,  but,  that  there  is  a  tradition  re- 
lative to  each  of  the  points  -which  he  thus  maintains ;  and 
that  such  tradition  is,  in  each  point,  sufficient  to  establish 
that  point.  For  want  of  observing  this  rule,  the  most  vague 
and  interminable  disputes  have  often  been  carried  on  respect- 
ing tradition,  generally. 

There  is  (according  to  the  old  maxim  of  "  peritis  creden- 
dum  est  ice  arte  sua'')  a  presumption,  (and  a  fair  one,)  in  re- 
spect of  each  question,  in  favour  of  the  judgment  of  the 
most  eminent  men  in  the  department  it  pertains  to, — of  emi- 
nent physicians,  e.  g.,  in  respect  of  medical  questions,  —  of 
theologians,  in  theological,  kc.  And  by  this  presumption, 
many  of  the  Jews  in  our  Lord's  time  seem  to  have  been  in- 
fluenced, when  they  said,  "  Have  any  of  the  rulers  or  of  the 
pharisees  believed  on  Him?" 

But  there  is  a  counter-presumption,  arising  from  the  cir- 
cumstance that  men,  eminent  in  any  department,  are  likely 
to  regard  with  jealousy  any  one  who  professes  to  bring  to 
light  something  unknown  to  themselves ;  especially  if  it  pro- 
mise to  supersede,  if  established,  much  of  what  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  learn,  and  teach,  and  practise.  And 
moreover,  in  respect  of  the  medical  profession,  there  is  an 
obvious  danger  of  a  man's  being  regarded  as  a  dangerous  ex- 
perimentalist, who  adopts  any  novelty,  and  of  his  thus  losing 
practice,  even  among  such  as  may  regard  him  with  admira- 
tion as  a  philosopher.     In  confirmation  of  this,  it  may  bo 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPnTIIEQMS.  231 

sufficient  to  advert  to  the  cases  of  Harvey  and  Jcnnor. 
Harvey's  discovery  of  the  circidation  of  the  blood,  is  said  to 
have  lost  him  most  of  his  practice,  and  to  have  been  rejected 
by  every  physician  in  Europe,  above  the  age  of  forty.  And 
Jenner's  discovery  of  vaccination  had,  in  a  minor  degree, 
similar  results. 

There  is  also  this  additional  counter-presumption  against 
the  judgment  of  the  proficients  in  any  department,  that  they 
are  prone  to  a  bias  in  favour  of  everything  that  gives  the 
most  palpable  superiority  to  themselves  over  the  uninitiated 
(the  Idiotie),  and  affords  the  greatest  scope  for  the  employ- 
ment and  display  of  their  own  peculiar  acquirements.  Thus, 
e.  g.,  if  there  be  two  possible  interpretations  of  some  clause 
in  an  Act  of  Parliament,  one  of  which  appears  obvious  to 
every  reader  of  plain,  good  sense,  and  the  other  can  be  sup- 
ported only  by  some  ingenious  and  far-fetched  legal  subtlety, 
a  practised  lawyer  will  be  liable  to  a  bias  in  favour  of  the 
latter,  as  setting  forth  the  more  prominently  his  own  peculiar 
qualifications.  And  on  this  principle,  in  great  measure, 
seems  founded  Bacon's  valuable  remark ;  "  Harum  artium 
saspe  pravus  fit  usus,  7ie  sit  nuUus."  Rather  than  let  their 
knowledge  and  skill  lie  idle,  they  will  be  tempted  to  misapply 
them  ;  like  a  schoolboy,  who,  when  possessed  of  a  knife,  is 
for  trying  its  edge  on  everything  that  comes  in  his  way.  On 
the  whole,  accordingly,  I  think  that  of  these  two  opposite 
presumptions,  the  counter-presumption  has  often  as  much 
weight  as  the  other,  and  sometimes  more. 

"Men  imagine,"  says  Bacon,  "that  their  minds  have  the 
command  of  language  ;  but  it  often  happens  that  language 
bears  rule  over  their  mind."  Some  of  the  weak  and  absurd 
arguments  which  are  often  urged  against  Suicide,  may  be 
traced   to    the   influence    of  words    on  thoughts.     When  a 


232  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPIITnEGMS. 

Christian  moralist  is  called  on  for  a  direct  Scriptural  precept 
against  Suicide,  instead  of  replying  that  the  Bible  is  not 
meant  for  a  complete  code  of  laws,  but  for  a  system  of 
motives  and  principles,  the  answer  frequently  given  is, 
"  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder,''  and  it  is  assumed  in  the  argu- 
ments drawn  from  reason,  as  Avell  as  in  those  from  Revela- 
tion, that  Suicide  is  a  species  of  murder ;  viz.,  because  it  is 
called  ?>c\i-murder :  and  thus,  deluded  by  a  name,  many  are 
led  to  rest  on  an  unsound  argument,  Avhich,  like  all  other 
fallacies,  does  more  harm  than  good,  in  the  end,  to  the  cause 
of  truth.  Suicide,  if  any  one  considers  the  nature  and  not 
the  name  of  it,  evidently  Avants  the  most  essential  charac- 
teristic of  murder,  viz.,  the  hurt  and  injury  done  to  one's 
neighbour,  in  depriving  him  of  life,  as  well  as  to  others,  by 
the  insecurity  they  are  in  consequence  liable  to  feel.  And 
since  no  one  can,  strictly  speaking,  do  injustice  to  himself, 
he  cannot,  in  the  literal  and  primary  acceptation  of  the 
words,  be  said  either  to  rob  or  to  murder  himself.  He  who 
deserts  the  post  to  Avhich  he  is  appointed  by  his  great  Master, 
and  presumptuously  cuts  short  the  state  of  probation 
graciously  allowed  him  for  "working  out  his  salvation" 
(whether  by  action  or  by  patient  endurance),  is  guilty  indeed 
of  a  grievous  sin,  but  of  one  not  in  the  least  analogous  in  its 
character  to  murder.  It  implies  no  inhumanity.  It  is  much 
more  closely  allied  to  the  sin  of  wasting  life  in  indolence,  or 
in  trifling  pursuits,  —  that  life  which  is  bestowed  as  a  seed 
time  for  the  harvest  of  immortality.  What  is  called,  in 
familiar  phrase,  "killing  time,"  is,  in  truth,  an  approach,  as 
far  as  it  goes,  to  the  destruction  of  one's  own  life  ;  for  "  Time 
is  the  stuff  life  is  made  of." 

The  best  argument  against  duels    is,  that  they  confer  a 
character  of  daring  spirit,  which  all  in  some  degree  admire, 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  233 

on  such  conduct  as  would  otherwise  degrade  a  man.  If  one 
gives  another  the  lie,  he  would  be  cut  as  an  unmannerly 
brute,  but  for  the  rule  which  allows  you  to  "  call  him  out." 
He  is  ready  to  give  satisfaction,  and  is  somewhat  admired  for 
his  courage.  But  for  duelling,  he  could  give  no  satisfaction 
for  such  an  offence  to  society,  which  would  accordingly  send 
him  to  Coventry. 

The  defence,  certainly  the  readiest  and  most  concise,  fre- 
quently urged  by  the  sportsman,  when  accused  of  barbarity 
in  sacrificing  unoffending  hares  or  trout  to  his  amusement,  is 
to  reply,  as  he  may  safely  do,  to  most  of  his  assailants, 
"  Why  do  you  feed  on  the  flesh  of  the  harmless  sheep  and 
ox?"  and  that  this  answer  presses  hard,  is  manifested  by  its 
being  usually  opposed  by  sl  paljyable  falsehood  ;  viz.,  that  the 
animals  which  are  killed  for  food  are  sacrificed  to  our  necessi- 
ties, though  not  only  men  can,  but  a  large  proportion 
(probably  a  great  majority)  of  the  human  race  actually  do, 
subsist  in  health  and  vigour  without  flesh-diet ;  and  the  earth 
would  support  a  much  greater  human  population,  were  such 
a  practice  universal.  When  shamed  out  of  this  argument, 
they  sometimes  urge,  that  the  brute  creation  would  overrun 
the  earth,  if  we  did  not  kill  them  for  food ;  an  argument 
which,  if  it  were  valid  at  all,  would  not  justify  their  feeding 
on  fish;  though,  if  fairly  followed  up,  it  wo  it  Zc?  justify  Swift's 
proposal  for  keeping  down  the  excessive  population  of  Ireland. 
The  true  reason,  viz.,  that  they  eat  flesh  for  the  gratification 
of  the  palate,  and  have  a  taste  for  the  pleasures  of  the  table, 
though  not  for  the  sports  of  the  field,  is  one  which  they  do 
not  like  to  assign. 

The  word  "  expect"  is  liable  to  an  ambiguity  whicli  may 
sometimes  lead,  in  conjunction  with  other  causes,  to  a  practi- 
20* 


234  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

cal  bad  effect.  It  is  sometimes  used  in  the  sense  of 
"anticipate,"  "calculate  on,"  &c.  (sXiri^u),  in  short, 
"consider  as  probable,''  sometimes  for  "require  or  demand 
as  reasonable,"  —  "  consider  as  right"  (a^iw).  Thus,^I  may 
fairly,  "  expect"  (a|ioj)  that  one  who  has  received  kindness 
from  me,  should  protect  me  in  distress ;  yet  I  may  have 
reason  to  expect  (sXti^eiv)  that  he  will  not.  "  England  ex- 
pects every  man  to  do  his  duty;"  but  it  would  be  chimerical 
to  expect,  that  is,  anticipate,  a  universal  performance  of 
duty.  Hence,  when  men  of  great  revenues,  whether  civil  or 
ecclesiastical,  live  in  the  splendour  and  sensuality  of  Sardana- 
palus,  they  are  ajjt  to  plead  that  this  is  expected  of  them ; 
which  may  be  perhaps  sometimes  true,  in  the  sense  that  such 
conduct  is  anticipated  as  probable ;  not  true,  as  implying 
that  it  is  required  or  approved.  What  may  reasonably  be 
expected  (in  one  sense  of  the  word),  must  be  precisely  the 
practice  of  the  majority ;  since  it  is  the  majority  of  instances 
that  coxi'&iitxx.iQS  probability  :  what  may  reasonably  be  expected 
(in  the  other  sense),  is  something  much  beyond  the  practice 
of  the  generality ;  as  long,  at  least,  as  it  shall  be  true,  that 
"  narrow  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  life,  and  few  there  be 
that  find  it." 

The  expressions  "Matter  (or  question)  of  Fact"  and 
"Matter  of  Opinion,"  are  not  employed  by  all  persons  with 
precision  and  uniformity.  Decidedly  it  is  not  meant,  by 
those,  at  least,  who  use  language  with  any  precision,  that 
there  is  greater  certainty,  or  more  general  and  ready  agree- 
ment, in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  By  a  "  Matter  (or 
question)  of  Opinion,"  is  understood  anything  respecting 
which  an  exercise  of  judgment  would  be  called  for  on  the 
part  of  those  who  should  have  certain  objects  before  them, 
and  who  might  conceivably  disagree  in  their  judgment  there- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  235 

upon ;  for  instance,  that  one  of  Alexander's  friends  did,  or 
did  not,  administer  poison  to  him,  every  one  would  allow  to 
be  a  question  of  fact,  though  it  may  be  involved  in  inextrica- 
ble doubt ;  while  the  question.  What  sort  of  an  act  that  was, 
supposing  it  to  have  taken  place,  all  would  allow  to  be  a 
question  of  opinion,  though  probably  all  would  agree  in 
their  opinion  thereupon. 

Again,  it  is  not  apparently  necessary  that  a  "  Matter  of 
Fact,"  in  order  to  constitute  it  such,  should  have  ever  been 
actually  submitted — or  likely  to  be  so — to  the  senses  of  any 
human  being  ;  only,  that  it  should  be  one  which  conceivably 
might  be  so  submitted :  for  instance,  whether  there  is  a  lake 
in  the  centre  of  New  Holland, — whether  there  is  land  at  the 
South  Pole  —  whether  the  moon  is  inhabited, — would  gene- 
rally be  admitted  to  be  questions  of  fact,  although  no  one 
has  been  able  to  bear  testimony  concerning  them ;  and,  in 
the  last  case,  we  are  morally  certain  that  no  one  ever  will. 

And  in  this,  and  many  other  cases,  different  questions, 
very  closely  connected,  are  very  apt  to  be  confounded 
together,  and  the  proofs  belonging  to  one  of  them  brought 
forward  as  pertaining  to  the  other :  for  instance,  a  case  of 
alleged  prophecy  shall  be  in  question :  the  event,  said  to 
have  been  foretold,  shall  "be  established  as  a  fact;  and  also 
the  utterance  of  the  supposed  prediction  before  the  event ; 
and  this  will  perhaps  be  assumed  as  proof  of  that  which  is  in 
reality  another  question,  and  a  "question  of  opinion;" 
whether  the  supposed  prophecy  related  to  the  event  in 
question ;  and  again,  whether  it  were  merely  a  conjecture  of 
human  sagacity,  or  such  as  to  imply  superhuman  prescience. 

Again,  whether  a  certain  passage  occurs  in  certain  Manu- 
scripts of  the  Greek  Testament,  is  evidently  a  question  of 
Fact ;  but  whether  the  words    imply  such  and  such  a  doc- 


236  MISCELLANEOUS    APOrnTDEGMS. 

trine, — however  indubitable  it  may  justly  appear  to  us, — is 
evidently  a  "  Matter  of  Opinion." 

It  is  observable  also,  that,  as  there  may  be  (as  I  have  just 
said),  questions  of  Opinion  relative  to  Facts,  so  there  may 
also  be  questions  of  Fact  relative  to  Opinions  ;  that  is,  that 
such  and  such  Opinions  were,  or  were  not,  maintained  at  such 
a  time  and  place,  by  such  and  such  persons,  is  a  question  of 
Fact. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  longest  mathematical  demonstra- 
tion should  be  so  much  more  easily  constructed  and  under- 
stood than  a  much  shorter  train  of  just  reasoning  concerning 
real  facts.  For,  not  only  are  the  mathematical  definitions 
very  few,  but  the  axioms  are  still  fewer,  and  always  employed 
in  the  same  simple  form ;  and  both  are,  for  the  most  part, 
laid  down  and  placed  before  the  student  in  the  outset ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  all  reasonings  that  regard  matters  of 
fact,  fresh  and  fresh  facts  are  introduced  almost  at  every 
step  to  a  very  great  number ;  and  the  maxims  employed 
admit  of,  and  require,  continual  modifications  in  the  applica- 
tion of  them.  The  former  has  been  aptly  compared  to  a  long 
and  steep,  but  even  and  regular,  flight  of  steps,  which  tries 
the  breath,  and  the  strength,  and  the  perseverance  only ; 
while  the  latter  resembles  a  short  but  rugged  and  uneven 
ascent  up  a  precipice,  Avhich  requires  a  quick  eye,  agile 
limbs,  and  a  firm  step ;  ami  in  which  we  have  to  tread,  now 
on  this  side,  now  on  that, — ever  considering,  as  we  proceed, 
whether  this  or  that  projection  will  afford  room  for  our  foot, 
or  whether  some  loose  stone  may  not  slide  from  under  us. 

The  knowledge  of  facts,  whether  much  or  little,  will  often 
be  worse  than  useless  to  those  who  are  deficient  in  the  power 
of  discriminating  and  selecting ;  just  as  food  is  to  a  body, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOniTIIEGMS.  237 

wliose  digestive  system  is  so  mucli  impaired  as  to  be  incapa- 
ble of  separating  the  nutritious  portions. 

Men  of  very  inferior  powers,  sometimes,  by  immediate 
observation,  discover  perfectly  ncAV  facts  empirically ;  and 
may  thus  be  of  service  in  furnishing  materials  to  those 
master  minds  that,  by  their  skilful  selection  and  combining 
of  truths  long  and  generally  known,  elicit  important,  and 
hitherto  unthought  of,  conclusions.  Theirs  are  master  minds, 
to  whom  the  others  stand  in  the  same  relation  as  the  brick- 
maker  or  stone  quarrier  to  the  architect. 

Information,  as  to  matters  of  fact,  may  easily  be  referred 
in  the  mind  to  the  person  from  whom  we  have  derived  it  : 
but  scientific  truths,  when  thoroughly  embraced,  become 
much  more  a  part  of  the  mind,  as  it  were  ;  since  they  rest, 
not  on  the  authority  of  the  instructor,  but  on  reasoning  from 
data,  which  we  ourselves  furnish :  they  are  scions  engrafted 
on  the  stems  previously  rooted  in  our  own  soil ;  and  we  are 
apt  to  confound  them  with  its  indigenous  productions. 

Information  gives  us  absolutely  new  knowledge ;  Instruc- 
tion developes  what  we  had. 

The  office  of  a  philosopher  is  to  infer ;  of  an  advocate,  to 
prove. 

The  number  of  those  who  are,  not  only  qualified  to  appre- 
ciate justly  the  force  of  arguments,  but  who  are  also  accus- 
tomed to  this  employment  of  their  faculties,  is  j^robably  less 
than  is  supposed.  When  a  man  maintains,  on  several  points, 
opinions  which  are  true,  and  assigns  good  and  sufficient 
reasons  for  them,  both  he  himself  and  others   are   apt   to 


238  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPIITnEGMS. 

conclude  at  once  that  he  is  convinced  by  those  reasons ; 
whereas  the  truth  ^Yill  often  be  that  he  has  taken  upon  trust 
both  the  premises  and  the  conclusion,  as  well  as  the  connexion 
between  them ;  that  he  is  indolently  repeating  what  he  has 
heard,  without  performing  any  process  of  reasoning  in  his 
own  mind  ;  and  that,  if  he  had  not  been  early  trained  or 
predisposed  to  admit  the  conclusion,  and  it  had  been  presented 
to  him  as  a  novelty,  the  arguments  which  support  it,  though 
in  themselves  valid,  would  have  had  little  or  no  weight  with 
him.  If  such  a  man  then  enters  on  any  new  field  of  enquiry, 
his  deficiencies  at  once  become  apparent.  He  is  in  a  situation 
analogous  to  that  of  children,  taught  by  a  negligent  or  un- 
skilful master,  who  are  often  found  able,  apparently,  to  read 
with  great  fluency  in  a  book  they  have  been  accustomed  to, 
though,  in  reality,  they  are  not  so  much  reading,  as  repeating 
by  rote  the  sentences  they  have  often  gone  over ;  and,  if 
tried  in  a  new  book,  are  at  a  loss  to  put  two  syllables  to- 
gether. 

People  often  read  good  books  because  it  is  a  good  thing  to 
read  good  books  ;  and  because  everything  they  have  read  is 
perfectly  good  and  true,  they  set  it  down  among  the  praise- 
worthy actions  of  their  life  :  instead  of  regarding  such  studies 
as  means,  and  means  only,  tOAvards  a  further  end,  the  non- 
attainment  of  which  renders  them  as  utterly  worthless  as  the 
act  of  sowing  the  land  with  seed  that  never  comes  up.  This 
fully  accounts  for  the  approbation  bestowed  on  religious  and 
moral  books,  when  they  are  utterly  undeserving  of  it.  If  a 
farmer  was  paid  for  sowing  his  seed  merely,  and  had  no 
anxiety  to  get  a  good  crop,  he  would  not  distinguish  very 
accurately  between  good  seed  and  bad.  Some  may  think 
that  a  book  of  this  kind,  if  it  does  no  good,  can  at  least  do 
no  harm :  not  so  ;   for  whatever  furnishes  a  man  with  the 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  239 

pretence  of  performing  a  duty  Avlicn  he  is  not,  so  far  does 
harm. 

It  is  so  very  easy  to  gain  the  approbation  of  those  who 
are  already  of  your  opinion,  and  so  very  difficult  to  change 
any  one's  opinion,  that  nearly  the  whole  effect  of  writing,  as 
far  as  concerns  propagation  of  doctrines,  is  upon  minds  on 
that  point  fallotv  —  not  preoccupied  by  an  opinion,  or 
wavering.    . 

The  effect  produced  by  any  book  or  speech  of  an  argmnen- 
tative  character,  on  any  subject  on  which  diversity  of  opinion 
prevails,  may  be  compared  —  supposing  the  argument  to  be 
of  any  weight  —  to  the  effects  of  a  fire-engine  on  a  conflagra- 
tion. That  portion  of  the  water  which  falls  on  solid  stone 
walls,  is  poured  out  where  it  is  not  needed.  That,  again, 
which  falls  on  blazing  beams  and  rafters,  is  cast  off  in  volumes 
of  hissing  steam,  and  will  seldom  avail  to  quench  the  fire. 
But  that  which  is  poured  on  wood  work  that  is  just  beginning 
to  kindle,  may  stop  the  burning ;  and  that  which  wets  the 
rafters  not  yet  ignited,  but  in  danger,  may  save  them  from 
catching  fire.  Even  so,  those  who  already  concur  with  the 
writer  as  to  some  point,  will  feel  gratified  with,  and  perhaps 
bestow  high  commendation  on  an  able  defence  of  the  opinion 
they  already  held ;  and  those,  again,  Avho  have  fully  made  up 
their  minds  on  the  opposite  side,  are  more  likely  to  be  dis- 
pleased than  to  be  convinced.  But  both  of  these  parties  are 
left  nearly  in  the  same  mind  as  before.  Those,  however,  who 
are  in  a  hesitating  and  doubtful  state,  may  very  likely  be  decided 
by  forcible  arguments.  And  those  who  have  not  hitherto 
considered  the  subject,  may  be  induced  to  adopt  opinions 
Avhich  they  find  supported  by  the  strongest  reasons.  But  the 
readiest  and  warmest  approbation  an  author  meets  with,  will 


210  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS, 

usually  be  from  those  wliora  lie  has  not  convinced,  because 
they  -were  convhiced  already.  And  the  eflect,  the  most 
important  and  the  most  difficult  to  be  produced,  he  will 
usually,  when  he  does  produce  it,  hear  the  least  of.  Those 
whom  he  may  have  induced  to  reconsider,  and  gradually  to 
alter,  previously  fixed  opinions,  are  not  likely,  for  a  time  at 
least,  to  be  very  forward  in  proclaiming  the  change. 

If  there  could  be  a  book  (on  moral  or  religious  subjects) 
which  every  one  thought  very  convincing,  this  would  be  a 
sign  that  it  had  convinced  nobody. 

What  most  people  most  readily  and  most  cordially  approve, 
is  the  echo  of  their  own  sentiments ;  and  whatever  eflect  thia 
may  produce,  if  any,  must  be  short-lived.  AVc  hear  of 
volcanic  islands  thrown  up  in  a  few  days  to  a  formidable 
size,  and,  in  a  few  weeks  or  months,  sinking  down  again  or 
washed  away ;  while  other  islands,  which  arc  the  summits 
of  banks  covered  with  weed  and  drift  sand,  continue  slowly 
increasing  year  after  year,  century  after  century.  The  man 
that  is  in  a  hurry  to  see  the  full  effects  of  his  own  tillage, 
should  cultivate  annuals  and  not  forest  trees. 

Observation  digs  the  materials ;  Reasoning  erects  the 
building. 

The  idea  of  enlightening  incorrect  reasoners  by  supplying 
them  with  additional  facts,  is  an  error  similar  to  that  of  the 
two  boys,  in  the  tale  of  Sandford  and  Merton,  who,  having 
put  to  a  house  a  flat  roof,  through  which,  of  course,  the  rain 
came,  vainly  thought  to  remedy  their  mistake  by  laying  on 
more  straw. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  241 

Susceptibility  is  the  foundation  of  attachment;  but  it  is 
strength  of  feeling  that  ripens  it  into  a  genial  and  durable 
friendship. 

So  far  as  any  human  fault  or  folly  is  peculiar  to  any  par- 
ticular age  or  country,  its  effects  may  be  expected  to  pass 
away  soon,  -without  spreading  very  -widely ;  but  so  far  as  it 
belongs  to  human  nature  in  general,  -we  must  expect  to  find 
the  evil  effects  of  it  reappearing,  again  and  again,  in  various 
forms,  in  all  ages,  and  in  various  regions.  Plants  brought 
from  a  foreign  land,  and  cultivated  by  human  care,  may  often 
bo,  by  human  care,  extirpated,  or  may  even  perish  for  tvant 
of  care ;  but  the  indigenous  product  of  the  soil,  even  -when 
seemingly  eradicated,  Avill  again  and  again  be  found  spring- 
ing up  afresh : 

"  Sponte  sua  quae  se  tollunt  in  himinis  oras 
Infecunda  quidcm,  sed  Ireta  et  fortia  surp;unt. 
Quippe  sola  natura  subest." 

Ten  thousand  of  the  greatest  faults  m  our  neighbours,  are 
of  less  consequence  to  us  than  one  of  the  smallest  in  our- 
selves. 

The  relief  that  is  afforded  to  mere  "want,  /is  -^'ant,  tends  to 
increase  that  want. 

Vices  and  frailties  correct  each  other,  like  acids  and  alka- 
lies.    If  each  vicious  man  had  but  one  vice,  I  do  not  know 

how  the  world  could  go  on. 

The  power  of  duly  appreciating  littJe  things,  belongcth  to 
a  great  mind  :  a  narrow-minded  man  has  it  not ;  for  to  him 
they  are  great  things. 
21 


242  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

Many  a  one  is  apt  to  conclude  that  whatever  is  left  to  a 
man's  discretion,  is  left  to  liis  indiscretion. 

Many  a  ivould-\>c  great  knave  is,  from  intellectual  defi- 
ciency, only  a  small  knave. 

AVhat  is  very  clearly  demonstrated  -will  often  appear  to  a 
superficial  reader  so  evident  as  to  need  no  demonstration ; 
and  the  ability  which  has  been  employed  to  make  it  tlius  jjlain 
and  evident,  is  disparaged  in  consequence  of  its  own  success. 
When  the  hills  are  completely  cut  away,  and  the  chasm 
bridged  over,  and  the  swamps  rendered  firm,  so  that  the 
steam-can-iage  glides  smoothly  along,  the  traveller  is  apt  to 
think  lightly  of  the  obstacles  that  were  to  be  overcome. 

The  task  allotted  to  the  Christian  in  all  human  transac- 
tions, is  not  to  obtai7i  men's  gratitude  and  good-will ;  but  to 
deserve  it 

It  is  not  enough  for  the  Christian  to  conform  his  faith  to 
the  doctrines  of  his  religion ;  but  he  must  also  conform  his 
temper  to  its  spirit. 

A  member  of  an?/  Church  that  acknowledges  the  divine 
authority  of  Scripture,  and  yet  maintains  persecuting  dog- 
mas, must  be  inconsistent,  Avhether  he  hold  to  the  Gospel 
against  his  Church,  or  to  his  Church  against  the  Gospel. 

As  so  many  men  are  in  several  points,  worse  than  their 
principles,  so  men  may  occasionally  be  found  better  than 
some  of  their  principles. 

Some  who  are  continually  calling  attention  to  the  empty 
or  half-empty  churches  in  some  parishes,  while  wholly  over- 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTIIEUMS.  243. 

looking  the  three  times  as  many  parishes  in  which  there  is  a 
distressing  want  of  church  accommodation,  seem  to  proceed 
in  the  way  that  Balak  did  with  Balaam,  "  Come  now  and  I 
will  bring  thee  to  another  place,  where  thoa  shalt  see  hut 
the  uttermost  part  of  them,  and  shalt  not  see  them  all ;  and 
curse  me  then  from  thence." 

Every  page  of  history  furnishes  instruction  wherewith  to 
judge  of  the  future  by  the  past,  and  to  supply  rules,  not  only 
of  public  expediency,  but  also  of  private  duty. 

In  considering  remote  events,  too  little  allowance  is  made, 
while  in  recent  cases,  too  much  is  made,  for  the  circumstances 
in  which  the  agents  were  placed. 

We  ought  never  to  look  back  on  our  emancipation  from  a 
corrupt  system,  without  also  looking  forward  to  guard  vigi- 
lantly against  the  like  corruptions. 

Every  instance  of  a  man's  suffering  the  penalty  of  the 
law,  is  an  instance  of  the  failure  of  that  penalty  in  efiecting 
its  purpose,  which  is,  to  deter. 

Many  a  man  renounces  the  shackles  of  Papal  infallibility^ 
as  it  were  in  a  spirit  of  rivalry,  that  he  may  become  a  Pope 
to  himself. 

No  general  principles  can  ever  teach  their  own  application, 
or  supersede  the  exercise  of  practical  good  sense,  cautious 
deliberation  and  Christian  candour. 

It  is  one  thing  to  tvish  to  have  Truth  on  our  side,  and 
another  thing  to  wish  to  be  on  the  side  of  Truth. 


244  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTnEGM?. 

A  prcaclicr  should  ask  liimsolf,  "  Am  I  about  to  preacli 
because  I  Avant  to  say  something,  or  because  I  have  some- 
thing to  say  ?" 

There  are  some  persons  ■who  are  ready  to  denounce,  as 
persecuting,  every  system  which  does  not  leave  them  at 
liberty  to  persecute  others. 

To  inflict,  or  to  denounce,  punishment,  must  be  either  a 
duty  or  a  sin. 

Stumbling-blocks  in  religion  -will  ahvays  be  found  by  those 
■who  seek  them. 

Charity  is  not  to  be  attained,  at  the  expense  of  our  faith 
and  our  hope. 

The  ordinary  popular  use  of  the  words  "moral"  and 
"  morality"  is  much  more  limited  than  what  may  be  called 
the  philosophical  sense  of  them  :  the  latter  comprehending 
the  tempers,  as  Avell  as  the  outward  acts  to  Avhich  the  popular 
sense  is,  usually,  restricted. 

It  is  too  often  forgotten,  that  better  docs  not  necessarily 
imply  "good." 

He  only  is  exempt  from  failures,  who  makes  no  efforts. 

Some  persons  see  no  medium  between  regarding  a  point  as 
absolutely  essential,  or  absolutely  indifferent. 

Men  find  self-congratulation  more  agreeable  than  self-ex- 
amination. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  245 

Good  manners  are  a  part  of  good  morals. 

Though  a  course  of  action  be  in  itself  better  than  the  one 
a  man  judges  to  be  right,  it  would  not  bo  right  for  liirn  to 
take  it,  if  at  variance  with  his  own  convictions. 

We  must  beware  of  hastily  taxing  with  wilful  blindness, 
those  whose  views  are  limited  only  by  the  lowness  of  their 
position. 

Never,  while  the  world  lasts,  will  the  inconsiderate  and 
the  violent  be  prevented  from  confounding  together  things, 
which  differ  only  in  the  point  which  is  of  most  essential  im- 
portance, or  from  indiscriminately  censuring  whatever  has 
been  much  abused. 

Falsehood  is  difficult  to  be  maintained.  When  the  mate- 
rials of  a  building  are  solid  blocks  of  stone,  very  rude 
architecture  will  suflEico  ;  but  a  structure  of  rotten  materials 
needs  the  most  careful  adjustment  to  make  it  stand  at  all. 

He  who  points  out  the  improbability  of  a  current  story,  is 
not  bound  to  suggest  an  hypothesis  of  his  own.  One  may 
surely  be  allowed  to  hesitate  in  admitting  the  stories,  which 
the  ancient  poets  tell,  of  earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions 
being  caused  by  imprisoned  giants,  without  being  called  upon 
satisfactorily  to  account  for  these  phenonema. 

The  very  difference  between  the  cases  of  those  in  different 
ages  and  countries  from  our  o'wti,  makes  the  examples  adduced 
from  them  more  instructive,  by  proving  that  they  are  not 
copied  the  one  from  the  other,  but  originate  in  a  common  and 
deep-seated  source. 
21  * 


246  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTUEGMS. 

Men  undeiTute  tlie  danger  of  any  evil  tliat  lias  been  escaped. 

No  original  and  essentially  inherent  principle  of  the  human 
mind,  any  more  than  any  organ  of  the  human  body,  is  in 
itself  either  mischievous  or  useless.  The  maxim  that  Nature 
does  nothing  in  vain,  is  not  more  true  in  the  material,  than 
in  the  moral,  world. 

It  is  a  folly  to  expect  men  to  do  all  that  they  may  reason- 
ably be  expected  to  do. 

Most  men  are  admu'ers  of  justice,  — Avhen  justice  happens 
to  be  on  their  side. 

We  should  ever  regard  that  as  the  worst  extreme,  to  Avhich 
we  are  by  nature  the  more  prone. 

In  proportion  as  we  approach  towards  a  state  of  anarchy, 
we  arc  always  approaching  to  the  condition  of  the  worst  kind 
of  oligarchy, — the  domineering  of  a  few  violent  and  unscrupu- 
lous men  over  the  rest. 

Caesar  was  not  the  only  man  who  would  rather  be  the  first 
in  a  village  than  the  second  at  Rome. 

To  detect  the  excess  of  a  disposition  totally  unlike  our 
own,  is  as  easy  as  it  is  of  little  concern  to  us  ;  Avhile  to  guard 
against  our  own  peculiar  propensities,  is  at  once  the  hardest 
task,  and,  to  ourselves,  incomparably  the  most  important. 

The  more  confidently  secui'c  wc  feel  against  our  liability 
to  any  error,. to  which  in  fact  we  are  liable,  the  greater  must 
be  our  danger  of  fallino;  into  it. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIIXnEGMS.  2-i7 

In  our  judgment  of  human  transactions,  the  law  of  optics 
is  reversed ;  we  see  the  most  indistinctly,  the  objects  Avhich 
are  close  around  us. 

Of  all  hostile  feelings,  Envy  is  perhaps  the  hardest  to  be 
subdued,  because  hardly  any  one  oivns  it,  even  to  himself; 
but  looks  out  for  one  pretext  after  another  to  justify  his 
hostility. 

The  mistake  a  man  makes  by  a  false  statement  advan- 
tageous to  his  views,  is  like  the  mistake  a  man  sometimes 
makes  of  taking  a  better  umbrella  by  cliance,  instead  of  his 
own,  and  then,  not  thinking  it  worth  while  to  return  it. 

Whatever  is  worth  mentioning  at  all,  is  worth  mentioning 
correctly. 

He  who  has  trumpeted  forth  an  accusation,  ought  not  to 
think  it  sufficient  to  ivldsper  his  recantation. 

Some  are  satisfied  with  not  cherishing  faults  in  themselves, 
while  they  are  quietly  tolerating  them.  A  plant  may  be  in 
a  garden  from  two  causes,  either  from  being  planted  de- 
signedly, or  found  there  and  left  there.  Either  implies  some 
degree  of  approval. 

To  enquire  how  wc  would  act  in  any  supposed  case,  even 
when  such  as  could  not  possibly  occur,  is  to  apply  a  test 
which  decomjMses,  as  the  chemists  say,  the  complex  mass  of 
our  motives,  and  enables  us  to  ascertain  on  what  principle  we 
are  acting. 

Men  often  regard  as  zeal  for  God's  honour,  what  is 
perhaps,  in  truth,  rather  zeal  for  their  own  honour. 


248  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTnEGMS. 

An  evil  propensity  confessed  is  half  cured :  people  irritate 
themselves,  by  trying  to  prove  that  they  are  not  irritable. 

So  intimate  is  the  connection  of  different  errors,  that  they 
will  generally  be  found,  if  not  directly  to  generate,  jx't 
mutually  to  foster  and  promote  one  another. 

So  strong  is  the  combined  attraction  of  Anticjuity  and 
Novelty,  that  any  system  that  offers  gratification  to  the  desire 
for  both,  needs  a  very  small  portion  of  truth  to  gain  it  eager 
and  general  acceptance. 

Men  are  not  always  rigid  in  their  use  of  their  rights. 

The  imprudent  spendthrift,  finding  that  he  is  able  to  afford 
this,  or  that,  or  the  other,  expense,  forgets  that  all  of  them 
together  will  ruin  him. 

A  statesman,  Avithout  wisdom,  does  mischief  in  proportion 
as  he  is  clever. 

Some  men's  reputation  seems  like  seed-Avheat,  Avhich  thrives 
best  when  brought  from  a  distance. 

Our  best  feelings  should  ever  be  under  the  control  of  our 
best  judgment. 

Affectation  seems  rather  a  sign  of  modesty,  than  of  conceit. 
Who  would  paint  if  they  thought  their  natural  complexion 
good  ?  But  many  confound  together  vanity  and  self-conceit, 
which  are  different  in  themselves,  and  often  tend  to  opposite 
results. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  249 

In  the  strong  objections  to  every  plan  that  may  be  pro- 
posed, men  are  apt  to  forget  the  strong  objections  there  are 
to  adopting  no  plan  at  all.  A  man  may  have  it  in  his  power 
to  go  to  a  place  where  he  wishes  to  be,  either  by  sea  or  by 
land,  and  there  may  be  advantages  in  cachmode  of  travelling, 
but  if  he  is  resolved  to  forego  none  of  those  advantages,  he 
can  never  set  out. 

If  a  man  is  not  too  mad  to  intend  what  he  does,  he  is  not 
too  mad  to  be  punished  for  it. 

Some  speak  so  vehemently  of  their  feeling  no  anger  and 
very  great  contempt  for  any  attack  made  upon  them,  as  to 
raise  a  suspicion  that  they  feel  just  the  reverse. 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  man  is  usually  less  offended  with 
those  who  profess  to  understand  what  he  does  not,  than  with 
those  who  acknoAvledge  their  inability  to  comprehend  what 
he  holds  to  be  clearly  intelligible  ;  since  these  last  will  appear 
to  entertain  a  suspicion,  at  least,  of  Avhat  is,  probably,  tho 
truth,  that  he  has  been  deluding  himself  with  empty  falla- 
cies, and  grasping  a  phantom. 

IIow  easy  it  is  to  forgive  injuries,  compared  with  m  ny 
things  that  are  no  injuries!  But  people  may  object  to  this 
use  of  the  word  forgive  ;  we  will  not  insist  on  using  it,  though 
Miss  Elizabeth  Smith  says,  "A  woman  has  need  of  extraor- 
dinary gentleness  and  modesty  to  be  forgiven  for  possessing 
superior  ability  and  learning."  And  she,  I  believe,  was 
forgiven,  accordingly. 

But  not  to  insist  on  a  word,  —  instead  of  "forgive"  say 
"judge  fairly,  and  feel  kindly,"  towards 

(1.)  One  who  adheres  to  the  views  which  ^vere  yours,  and 
which  you  have  changed  (this  was  one  of  Paul's  trials). 


250  MISCELLANEOUS     APOniTlIEaMS. 

(2.)  One  "wlio  had  proved  right  in  the  wrtrning  and  advice 
he  gave  you,  and  Avhich  you  rejected. 

"I  hear  you  no  ill--\Yill,  Lizz^^,"  says  ^\v.  Bennett  in  Miss 
Austen's  Pride  and  Prejudice,  "  for  heing  justified  in  the 
warning  you  gave  me :  considering  how  matters  have  turned 
out,  I  think  this  shows  some  magnanimity." 

(3.)  One  who  is  preferred  to  you  by  the  woman  you  are  in 
love  with ;  or  has  carried  off  some  other  prize  from  you : 
especially  if  he  has  attained  Avith  little  or  no  exertion,  what 
you  have  been  striving  hard  for,  without  success.  (Vid. 
Arist.  Rhetoric,  cp^uvos). 

(4.)  One  who  has  succeeded  in  some  enterprise  when  you 
had  predicted  failure. 

In  all  these  and  some  other  cases,  there  is  evidently  no 
injury:  and  therefore  "I  hate,"  some  will  say,  "to  hear 
forgiveness  spoken  of,  when  in  fact  there  is  nothing  to  for- 
give." Be  it  so :  but  do  not  go  on  to  imagine  that  you  have 
therefore  no  need  to  keep  down,  with  strong  effort,  just  the 
same  kind  of  feelings  that  you  would  have,  if  there  had  been 
an  injury. 

If  you  take  for  granted  because  there  is  no  injury,  there- 
fore there  is  no  care  needful  to  repress  such  feelings,  inas- 
much as  they  are  so  manifestly  unjust,  the  result  will  be  that 
you  will  not  repress,  but  indulge  them.  You  will  never 
acknowledge  to  yourself  the  real  ground  of  your  resentful 
feelings  (as  you  do  in  the  case  of  an  injury),  but  you  will  find 
out  some  other  ground,  real  or  imaginary:  "it  is  not  that 
the  man  adheres  to  his  own  original  views ;  but  that  he 
maintains  them  with  uncharitable  violence:  it  is  not  that  I 
grudge  him  his  success ;  but  that  he  is  too  much  puffed  up 
with  it ;  or  he  is  not  fully  deserving  of  it,"  &c. 

If  you  cultivate,  in  the  right  waj'-,  the  habit  of  forgiving 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  251 

injuries,  you  "will  acquire  it;  and  not  else.  And  if  you  are 
content  Avith  this,  and  do  not  cultivate  that  candour  which  I 
have  been  speaking  of.  you  will  be  deficient  in  that :  for  be 
assured  it  does  not  grotv  wild  in  the  soil  of  the  human  heart. 
And  the  groundlessness  and  injustice  of  the  feelings  Avhich 
will  grow  wild  there,  is  a  reason,  not  Avhy  you  should  neglect 
to  extirpate  them,  but  why  you  should  be  the  more  ashamed 
of  not  doing  so. 

To  expect  to  tranquillize  and  benefit  a  country  by  gratify- 
ing its  agitators,  would  be  like  the  practice  of  the  supersti- 
tious of  old,  with  their  sympathetic  powders  and  ointments ; 
who  instead  of  applying  medicaments  to  the  wound,  contented 
themselves  with  salving  the  sword  which  had  inflicted  it. 
Since  the  days  of  Dane-gelt  downwards,  nay,  since  the  world 
was  created,  nothing  but  evil  has  resulted  from  concessions 
made  to  intimidation. 

Conflicting  prejudices  serve  as  an  imperfect  substitute  for 
impartiality.  And  if  no  wise  and  moderate  measures  were 
framed  and  adopted,  except  by  wise  and  moderate  men,  the 
world  would  go  on  much  worse  than  it  does. 

That  is,  in  a  great  degree,  true  of  all  men,  which  was  said 
of  the  Athenians,  that  they  were  like  sheep^  of  which  a  flock 
is  more  easily  driven  than  a  single  one. 

Kindle  the  dry  sticks,  and  the  green  ones  ivill  catch. 

If  you  begin  by  attempting  to  reform,  and  to  instruct, 
those  who  need  reformation  and  instruction  the  most,  you 
will  often  find  them  unwilling  to  listen  to  you.  Like  green 
sticks,  they  will  not  catch  fire.  But  if  you  begin  with  the 
most  teachable  and  best  disposed,  when  you  have  succeeded 


252  MISCELLANEOUS    APOniTIIEGMS. 

in  improving  these,  they  will  bo  a  help  to  you  in  improving 
the  others. 

Children  and  fools  should  not  see  a  work  that  is  half  done. 
They  have  not  the  sense  to  see  -what  the  artist  is  designing. 
The  whole  of  this  world  that  avc  see,  is  a  loork  half  done ; 
and  thence  fools  are  apt  to  find  fault  with  Providence. 

Clouds  afixr  look  Ijlaek  or  gay  ; 
Closely  seen,  they  all  are  grey. 

It  is  just  SO  with  many  a  public  man,  who  will  be  found 
by  those  immediately  around  him  neither  so  detestable  nor 
so  admirable,  as  perhaps  he  is  thought  by  opposite  parties. 

A  character  which  will  not  defend  itself,  is  seldom  worth 
defending. 

vSIlvcr  gilt  -will  often  pass, 
Silver  for  gold,  or  else  for  brass. 

Some  men  who,  at  the  first  glance,  give  the  idea  of  some- 
thing very  superior  indeed,  rather  beyond  what  they  really 
arc,  are  ultimately  either  underrated  or  overrated. 

The  generality  of  mankind  arc  as  good  and  as  wise  as 

the  generality. 

A  man's  coat  may  well  fit  him,  when  it  is  made  to  his 
measure. 

Never  is  the  mind  less  fitted  for  self-examination,  than 
when  most  occupied  in  detecting  the  faults  of  others. 

To  deprecate  tlie  utilify  of  secondary  motives,  is  to 
betray  an  ignorance  of  human  nature. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOniTIIEGMS.  253 

MankintI  arc  not  formed  to  live  "without  ceremony  and 
form :  The  "  inward,  spiritual  grace"  is  very  apt  to  be  lost 
Avithout  the  "external,  visible  sign."  Many  are  continually 
setting  up  for  the  expulsion  of  ceremonies  from  this  or  that, 
and  often,  -with  advantage,  Avhen  they  have  so  multiplied  as 
to  grow  burdensome ;  but  if  ever  they  have  carried  this  too 
far,  they  have  been  either  forced  to  bring  back  some  cere- 
monies, or  have  found  the  want  of  them.  The  same  is  found 
in  the  minor  department  of  manners ;  when  form  is  too 
much  neglected,  true  politeness  suffers  diminution ;  then,  we 
are  obliged  to  bring  some  back,  and  when  these  again  grow 
burdensome,  we  lay  them  aside  again ;  so  that  there  is  a 
continual  flux  and  reflux.  Upon  the  whole,  we  may  conclude 
that  ceremony  and  form  of  every  kind  derive  their  necessity 
from  our  imperfection.  If  we  were  perfectly  spiritual,  we 
might  worship  God  without  any  form  at  all,  without  ever 
uttering  words  ;  as  we  are  not,  it  is  a  folly  to  say,  "  One 
may  be  just  as  pious  on  one  day  as  another,  in  one  place  or 
posture  as  another,"  &c.  I  answer,  angels  may;  man  cannot. 
Again,  if  we  were  all  perfectly  benevolent,  good-tempered, 
attentive  to  the  gratifying  of  others,  &c.,  we  might  dispense 
with  all  the  forms  of  good-breeding;  as  it  is,  we  cannot; We 
are  not  enough  of  heroes  to  fight  without  discipline.  Selfish- 
ness will  be  sure  to  assail  us  if  we  once  let  the  barriers  be 
broken-  down.  At  the  same  time  it  is  evident  from  what  has 
been  said,  that  the  Mglier  our  nature  is  carried,  the  leas  form 
we  need. 

But  though  we  may  deservedly  congratulate  society  on 
being  able  to  dispense  Avith  this  or  that  ceremony,  do  not  let 
us  be  in  a  hurry  to  do  so,  till  we  are  sure  we  can  do  without 
it.  It  is  taking  away  crutches  to  cure  the  gout.  The  op- 
posite extreme  of  substituting  the  external  form  for  the  thing 
signified,  is  not  more  dangerous  or  more  common,  than  the 


254  MISCELLANEOUS   ArOPIITIIEGMS. 

neglect  of  tliat  form.  It  is  all  very  -well  to  say,  "  There  is 
no  use  in  bidding  good-morrow  or  good-night  to  those  who 
know  I  wish  it ;  of  sending  one's  love,  in  a  letter,  to  those 
who  do  not  doubt  it,"  &c.  All  this  is  very  well  in  theory, 
but  it  will  not  do  for  practice.  Scarce  any  friendship,  or  any 
politeness,  is  so  strong  as  to  be  able  to  subsist  without  any 
external  supports  of  this  kind ;  and  it  is  even  better  to  have 
too  much  form  than  too  little. 

Men  are  admired  for  what  they  are,  commended  for  what 
they  do,  and  macarized  for  what  they  have. 

He  that  assails  error  because  it  is  error,  without  respect 
of  persons,  must  be  prepared  for  a  storm  from  the  party  who 
were  fanning  him  with  the  gentle  breath  of  applause,  so  long 
as  he  had  been  dealing  with  the  errors  of  the  party  opposed 
to  them.     They  say  with  the  rat, — 

"  This  cat,  if  she  murder  a  rat, 
Must  needs  be  a  very  great  sinner, 
But  to  dine  upon  mice,  can't  be  counted  a  vice ; 
I  myseJf  liiie  a  mouse  for  my  dinner."  * 

Men  often  earnestly,  but  not  very  successfully,  endeavour 
to  put  down  that  party  which  they  have  themselves  fostered 
into  strength  and  popularity.  The  little  birds — according  to 
the  proverb — which  are  vainly  chasing  about  the  full-grown 
cuckoo,  had  themselves  reared  it  as  a  nestling.  And  the 
horse  in  the  fable,  who,  seeking  aid  against  his  enemy  the 
stag,  had  allowed  an  insidious  ally  to  mount,  and  to  put  his 
bit  into  his  mouth,  found  it  afterwards  no  easy  matter  to 
unseat  him. 

*  Quoted  from  recollections  of  a  hidicrous  poem  on  a  house  much  in- 
fested witli  rats,  into  which  a  cat  had  been  introduced. 


I 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  255 

No  appellation,  hoAvever  honourable  in  itself,  and  however 
fairly  applicable,  can  be  innocently  assumed  as  the  badge  of 
a  party.  Those  of  the  Corinthians,  who  said,  "  I  am  of 
Christ,"  using  the  title  to  distinguish  them /row  other  mem- 
bers of  the  same  Church,  Avere  no  less  censured  than  those 
who  said,  "I  am  of  Paul,"  or  "I  am  of  Apollos." 

Men  become  attached  to  a  party  in  Avhose  ranks  they  have 
fought. 

The  stream  of  truth  is  gentle,  but  permanent ;  while  pas- 
sionate party-clamour  is  like  a  winter  torrent,  —  impetuous, 
but  transitory. 

Unhappily,  a  great  portion  of  our  species  are  not  very 
wise,  and  a  good  many  of  them  not  very  honest.  The  former, 
if  they  hear  of  a  person  who  does  not  admit  the  gromids  on 
which  they  believe  something,  take  for  granted  that  he  does 
not  believe  it  at  all ;  and  the  latter  think  it  meritorious  to 
take  advantage  of  the  silliness  of  the  others,  to  garble  and 
misrepresent  their  opponent's  expressions,  in  order  to  expose 
him  to  odium,  thus  acting  like  those  tyrannical  emperors, 
who  used  to  dr&ss  up  their  victims  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts, 
and  then  set  dogs  at  them  to  Avorry  them  to  death. 

It  is  Avorth  remarking  that  Party  Spirit,  in  its  violation  of 
Shakespeare's  maxim,  "Nothing  extenuate,  nor  set  down 
aught  in  malice,"  generally  unites  the  tAvo  opposite  extremes. 
For,  it  is  the  tendency  of  party  spirit  to  pardon  anything  in 
those  who  heartily  support  the  party,  and  nothing  in  those 
who  do  not. 

Those  who,  from  single  sentences  and  passages  apart  from 
the  context,  represent  an  author  as  favouring  Socinian,  Sa- 


256  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPnTIIEGMS. 

IjelLian,  or  Avian  views,  should  recollect  tliat  the  same  is 
notoriously  the  case  Avith  the  Bible  itself;  since  otherwise, 
those  sects — each  appealing  to  Scripture,  Avhich  they  interpret 
according  to  their  own  respective  views  —  ncvei'  could  have 
arisen. 

To  misrepresent  the  argument  of  an  opponent,  is  virtually 
to  admit  that  what  he  has  really  said,  is  not  open  to  refutation. 

The  principal  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  treatment  and 
judgment  of  those  who  differ  from  us,  whether  on  minor  or 
essential  points,  are,  first,  to  beware  of  mistaking  the  mean- 
ing of  any  one,  and  imputing  to  him  sentiments  which  he 
does  not  really  entertain ;  secondly,  to  make  due  allowance 
for  iveaJcncss  of  intellect,  backwardness  in  knowledge  and 
inaptitude  for  accurate  statements  ;  and  thirdly,  to  allow  also 
for  such  differences  of  natural  or  acquired  temper  and  taste, 
as  imply  nothing  sinful;  differences  which  even  divine  inspira- 
tion, as  we  may  perceive  from  the  characteristic  style  of 
composition  of  each  of  the  sacred  writers,  does  not  entirely 
do  away. 

The  difference  between  self-love  and  selfishness  has  been 
well,  explained  by  Aristotle ;  though  he  has  not  accounted 
for  the  use  of  the  word  (ptXauna.  It  is  clear  that  selfishness 
exists  only  in  reference  to  others,  and  could  have  no  place  in 
one  w'ho  lived  alone  on  a  desert  island,  though  he  might  have 
of  course  every  degree  of  self-love ;  for  selfishness  is  not  an 
excess  of  self-love,  and  consists  not  in  an  over-desire  of 
happiness,  but  in  placing  your  happiness  in  something  which 
interferes  with,  or  leaves  you  regardless  of,  that  of  otiiers. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose,  that  selfishness  and  want  of 
feeling  arc  either  the  same,  or  inseparable.    Noay,  on  the  one 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  257 

hand,  I  have  known  such  as  have  had  very  little  feeling,  hut 
felt  for  others  as  much  nearly  as  for  themselves  ;  and  were, 
therefore,  far  from  selfish :  and,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of 
very  acute  feelings,  feel  f«r  no  one  hut  themselves,  and  in- 
deed, are  sometimes  amongst  the  most  cruel. 

Again,  some  are  capable  of  making  grand  and  generous 
sacrifices  on  great  occasions,  who  yet  indulge  an  habitually 
selfish  temper  in  trifles. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  freedom  from  selfishness  is  not  a 
virtue  that  is  particularly  well  learned  from  example,  but 
rather  the  contrary ;  e.  g.,  a  parent  who  is  never  thinking  of 
her  own  convenience,  but  always  of  her  children's  advantage, 
will  be  likely  to  let  that  too  plainly  appear,  so  as  to  fill  the 
child  with  an  idea  that  everything  is  to  give  way  to  him,  and 
that  his  concerns  are  an  ultimate  end.  Nay,  the  very  pains 
taken  with  him  in  strictly  controlling  him,  heighten  his  idea 
of  his  own  vast  importance ;  whereas  a  parent  who  is  selfish, 
will  be  sure  to  accustom  the  child  to  sacrifice  his  own  conve- 
nience ;  and  to  understand  that  he  is  of  much  less  importance 
than  the  parent ;  and  so  in  some  other  cases.  Accordingly, 
selfishness  is  caught  from  those  who  have  least  of  it. 

Aristotle  had  the  eye  of  a  bird,  both  telescopic  and  mi- 
croscopic. 

One  of  the  most  exalted  and  least  acquirable,  talents  is 
Totality ;  not  every  one  who  has  bricks,  has  a  house. 

The  more  a  man  knows,  the  more  he  will  feel  of  admira- 
tion, and  the  less  of  surprise. 

Though  the  word  "  Pedantry"  is  applied,  almost  exclu- 
sively, to  the  introduction  in  ordinary  conversation  of  learned 

22* 


258  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOrHTIlEGMS. 

technicalities  ;  yet  the  thing  is  found  in  all  professions ;  und 
chiefly  in  those  which  are  not  learned ;  no  one  has  it  more 
than  the  sailor. 

The  most  ordinary  and  unimportant  actions  of  a  man's 
life,  ^Yill  often  show  more  of  his  natural  character  and  his 
habits  than  more  important  actions,  which  are  done  delibe- 
rateJr/,  and  sometimes  against  his  natural  inclinations.  And 
again ;  what  is  said  or  done  by  very  inferior  persons,  who 
seldom  think  for  themselves,  or  act  resolutely  on  their  own 
judgment,  is  the  best  sign  of  what  is  commonlij  said  or  done 
in  the  place  and  time  in  which  they  live.  A  man  of  resolute 
character  and  of  an  original  turn  of  thought,  is  less  likely  to 
be  led  by  those  around  him,  and,  therefore,  does  not  fui-nish 
so  good  a  sign  of  what  are  the  2^^'<^vailing  opinions  and 
customs. 

Concealment  is  the  great  spur  to  curiosity,  which  gives  an 
interest  to  investigation.  The  celebrated  Letters  of  Junius 
would,  probably,  have  long  since  been  forgotten,  if  the 
author  could  have  been  clearly  pointed  out  at  the  time. 

Men  are  never  so  ready  to  study  the  interior  of  a  subject, 
as  Avhen  there  is  something  of  a  veil  thrown  over  the  exterior. 

Every  precaution  not  to  offend  the  pride  of  others  has  an 
obvious  tendency  to  allay  it.  The  less  the  wound  is  chafed, 
the  more  likely  it  is  to  heal. 

It  is  worth  remarking,  that  many  persons  arc  of  such  a 
disposition  as  to  be  nearly  incapable  of  remaining  in  doubt 
on  any  point  that  is  not  wholly  uninteresting  to  them.  They 
speedily  make  up  their  minds  on  each  question,  and  come  to 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOI'IITIIEGMS.  259 

some  conclusion,  whether  there  arc  any  good  grouiitls  for  it 
or  not.  And  judging  —  as  men  are  apt  to  do,  in  all  matters 
—  of  others,  from  themselves,  tliey  usually  discredit  the  most 
solemn  assurances  of  any  one  who  professes  to  be  in  a  state 
of  doubt  on  some  question ;  taking  for  granted  that  if  you 
do  not  adopt  their  opinion,  you  must  be  of  the  opposite. 

Others  again  there  are,  who  are  capable  of  remaining  in 
doubt  as  long  as  the  reasons  on  each  side  seem  exactly 
balanced ;  but  not  otherwise.  Such  a  person,  as  soon  as  he 
perceives  any  —  the  smallest  —  preponderance  of  probability 
on  one  side  of  a  question,  can  no  more  refrain  from  deciding 
immediately,  and  with  full  conviction,  on  that  side,  than  he 
could  continue  to  stand,  after  having  lost  his  equilibrium,  in 
a  slanting  position,  like  the  famous  tower  at  Pisa.  And  he 
will,  accordingly,  be  disposed  to  consider  an  acknowledgment 
that  there  are  somcAvhat  the  stronger  reasons  on  one  side,  as 
equivalent  to  a  confident  decision. 

The  tendency  to  such  an  error  is  the  greater,  from  the 
circumstance,  that  there  are  so  many  cases,  in  practice, 
wherein  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  come  to  a  practical 
decision,  even  where  there  are  no  sufficient  grounds  for 
feeling  fuUt/  convinced  that  it  is  the  right  one.  A  traveller 
may  be  in  doubt,  and  may  have  no  means  of  deciding,  Avith 
just  confidence,  wdiich  of  two  roads  he  ought  to  take ;  while 
yet  he  must,  at  a  venture,  take  one  of  them.  And  the  like 
happens  in  numberless  transactions  of  ordinary  life,  in  which 
we  are  obliged  practically  to  make  up  our  minds  at  once  to 
take  one  course  or  another,  even  where  there  are  no  sufficient 
grounds  for  a  full  conviction  of  the  understanding. 

The  infirmities  above  mentioned  are  those  of  ordinary 
minds.  A  smaller  number  of  persons,  among  whom,  how- 
ever, are  to  be  found  a  larger  pi'oportion  of  the  intelligent, 
are  prone  to  the  opposite  extreme ;  that  of  nut  deciding,  as 


260  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

long  as  there  are  reasons  to  be  found  on  both  sides,  even 
though  there  may  be  a  clear  and  strong  preponderance  on 
the  one,  and  even  though  the  case  may  be  such  as  to  call  for 
a  practical  decision.  As  the  one  description  of  men  rush 
hastily  to  a  conclusion,  and  trouble  themselves  little  about 
premises,  so,  the  other  carefully  examine  premises,  and  care 
too  little  for  conclusions.  The  one  decide  without  enquiring, 
the  other  enquire  without  deciding. 

A  charge  without  proof,  as  a  verdict  without  evidence, 
must  always  be  unjust;  whether  the  accused  be,  in  fact, 
innocent  or  guilty. 

The  imperfect  and  confused  sympathy  we  have  with  others, 
in  respect  of  their  feelings  towards  us,  and  indeed  universally, 
may  be  likened  to  nothing  so  well  as  to  the  mixture  of 
transparency  and  reflection  in  plate-glass.  We  sympathize, 
as  Adam  Smith  observes,  with  an  idiot  or  a  madman ;  form- 
ing an  indistinct  idea  of  being  in  his  situation,  and  at  the 
same  time  retaining  (which  is  a  contradictory  supposition) 
our  present  views  of  his  actions.  Just  as  one  looks  through 
the  window  at  a  tree,  and  sees,  by  an  imperfect  reflection, 
his  own  face  as  if  placed  in  the  midst  of  the  tree  ;  which  if  it 
were,  he  could  not  have  that  view  of  the  tree.  And  even  so, 
we  cannot  imagine  people  talking  of  us  after  our  death, 
without  the  idea  presenting  itself  of  our  hearing  what  they 
say 

We  never  can  be  sure  what  would  be  our  impression 
derived  from  such  and  such  a  passage  alone,  and  without 
any  reference  to  our  pre-conceived  notions.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  exercises  of  imagination  to  fancy  yourself  igno- 
rant of  what  you  really  know,  and  a  mere  white  sheet  of 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  261 

paper  in  reference  to  some  subject  on  Avliicli  you  have 
actually  formed  opinions.  A  Jury  is  often  exhorted  by  the 
Judge  to  give  a  verdict  cntirelij  irom  the  evidence  given  in 
court,  mtbout  any  regard  to  -what  they  may  have  keard  or 
thought  previously ;  all  which,  they  are  to  divest  themselves 
of,  and  lay  aside.  But  this  is  a  precept  easier  to  give  than 
to  observe  :  e.g.,  if  you  had  never  at  once  handled  and  looked 
at  a  globe  and  a  cube,  or  a  dog  and  a  cat,  you  would  not,  on 
seeing  them  for  the  first  time,  know  which  was  which. 
Bishop  Berkeley  undertook  to  prove  this ;  but  it  was  thought 
a  monstrous  paradox  till  experiments  j)roved  that  he  was 
right.  Words  expressing  some  tiling  seem  to  us  to  imply 
what  has  been  in  our  minds  associated  Avith  that  thing. 

Writers  of  great  note  have  declaimed  on  the  much  stricter 
observance,  in  the  Universe,  of  the  laws  of  Nature,  than,  in 
mankind,  of  the  divine  and  human  laws,  overlooking  the  yet 
obvious  distinction,  that,  in  the  former  case,  it  is  the  obser- 
vance that  constitutes  the  law,  whereas  in  the  other  case,  the 
law  is  not  more  or  less  a  law  from  the  conformity,  or  noncon- 
formity, of  individuals  to  it. 

Weak  men,  having  been  warned  that  "wisdom  and  wit " 
are  not  the  same  tiling,  and  that  ridicule  is  not  the  test  of 
Truth,  distrust  everything  that  can  possibly  be  regarded  as 
witty;  not  having  judgment  to  perceive  the  combination, 
when  it  occurs,  of  Wit  with  sound  Reasoning.  The  ivy -wreath 
conceals  from  their  view  the  point  of  the  Thyrsus.  He  that 
can  laugh  at  what  is  ludicrous,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve 
a  clear  discernment  of  sound  and  unsound  reasoning,  is  no 
ordinary  man. 

Many  are  sometimes  scandalized  when  some  folly  that  has 
been  forced  into  connection  Avith  religion  is  lau";hed  at  as  if 


262  MISCELLANEOUS    APOrilTIIEGMS. 

religion  itself  were  ridiculed.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  to 
attack  even  error  in  religion  with  mere  ridicule,  is  no  wise 
•act,  because  good  things  may  be  ridiculed  as  well  as  bad. 
But  it  surely  cannot  be  our  duty  to  abstain  from  showing 
plainly  that  absurd  things  arc  absurd,  merely  because  people 
cannot  help  smiling  at  them.  If  so,  the  more  directly 
absurd  anything  is,  the  more  secure  it  is  from  refutation  ; 
since  it  is  impossible  to  refute  such  tilings,  without  placing 
them  in  a  ludicrous  point  of  view.  A  tree  is  not  impaired 
by  being  cleared  of  mosses  and  lichens,  nor  Truth,  by  having 
folly  or  sophistry  torn  away  from  around  it. 

The  essence  of  a  Jest  is  its  mimic  sophistry  —  a  sophistry 
so  palpable  as  not  to  be  likely  to  deceive  any  one,  but  yet 
bearing  just  that  resemblance  of  argument  which  is  calculated 
to  amuse  by  the  contrast ;  in  the  same  manner  that  a  parody 
does,  by  the  contrast  of  its  levity  with  the  serious  production 
whicli  it  imitates.  There  is  indeed,  something  laughable  even 
in  fallacies  which  are  intended  for  serious  conviction,  when 
they  are  thoroughly  exposed. 

There  are  several  different  kinds  of  joke  and  raillery  which 
will  be  found  to  correspond  wath  the  different  kinds  of  fallacy. 
The  Pun  (to  take  the  simplest  and  most  obvious  case)  is 
evidently,  in  most  instances,  a  mock  argument  founded  on  a 
palpable  equivocation  of  the  middle-term.  It  is  probable, 
indeed,  that  all  jests,  sports,  or  games,  properly  so  called, 
will  be  found,  on  examination,  to  be  imitative  of  serious 
transactions,  as  of  War  or  Commerce. 

That  censure  and  commendation  should,  in  many  instances 
be  indiscriminate,  can  surprise  no  one  who  recollects  how 
rare  a  quality  discrimination  is ;  and  how  much  better  it  suits 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  263 

intlolence,  as  well  as  ignorance,  to  lay  down  a  rule  than  to 
ascertain  the  exceptions  to  it. 

How  many  act  like  Sinbad's  monkeys,  who  pelted  their 
enemies  with  cocoa-nuts  ! 

lie  that  is  truly  Arise  and  great, 
Lives  both  too  early  and  too  late. 

A  very  eminent  man  comes  too  late  for  some  purposes,  and 
too  eavhj  for  others. 

True  generosity  seems  to  consist  chiefly  in  standing  hy,  as 
it  were,  to  contemplate  all  your  own  actions  in  the  character 
of  an  unconcerned  and  judicious  spectator:  imperiously 
dictating  to  yourself,  in  spite  of  all  individual  feelings, 
that  conduct  which  would  appear  to  such  a  spectator  the 
most  beautiful. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  when  persons  past  forty 
before  they  were  at  all  acquainted,  form  together  a  very 
close  intimacy  of  friendship.  For  grafts  of  old  wood  to 
take,  there  must  be  a  wonderful  congeniality  between  the 
trees. 

Two  people,  who  are  each  of  an  unyielding  temper,  will 
not  act  well  together  ;  and  people  who  are  all  of  them  of  a 
very  yielding  temper,  will  be  likely  to  resolve  on  nothing ; 
just  as  stones  Avithout  morter  make  a  loose  wall,  and  morter 
alone,  no  wall.     So  says  the  proverb  — 

"  Hard  upon  hard  makes  a  bad  stone  wall, 
But  soft  upon  soft  makes  none  at  all. 

Increase  of  a  thing  is  often  confounded  with  our  increased 
knowledtre  of  it.     When  crimes  or  accidents  are  recorded  in 


264  MISCELLANEOIS     APOPIIXnEGMS. 

newspapers  more  than  formerly,  some  people  fancy  that  they 
happen  more  than  formerly.  But  crimes,  especially  (be  it  ob- 
served) such  as  are  the  most  remote  from  the  experience  of 
each  individual,  and  therefore  strike  him  as  something  strange^ 
always  furnish  interesting  articles  of  intelligence.  I  haA'e  no 
doubt  that  a  single  murder  in  Great  Britain  has  often  furnished 
matter  for  discourse,  to  more  than  twenty  times  as  many 
persons  as  any  twenty  such  murders  would  in  Turkey. 

Some  foreign  traveller  in  England  is  said  to  have  remarked 
on  the  perceptible  diminution  in  the  numher  of  crimes 
committed  during  the  sitting  of  Ptirliament  as  a  proof  of  our 
high  reverence  for  that  assembly ;  the  fact  being,  as  we  all 
know,  that  the  space  occupied  in  the  ncAvspapers  by  the 
Debates  causes  the  records  of  many  crimes  to  be  omitted. 

This  tendency  to  overrate  the  amount  of  whatever  is 
Jaiown,  seen,  and  definite,  as  compared  with  what  is  (either 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  or  accidentally)  unknown  or 
less  known  —  unseen  —  indefinite,  is  a  most  important  princi- 
ple to  keep  in  mind  for  the  correction  of  a  Avhole  class  of 
errors  in  popular  judgment.  —  Under  this  head  comes  the 
supposed  superiority  of  wisdom  attributed  to  cautious, 
reserved,  non-confiding,  do-nothing  characters,  as  compared 
with  the  more  open,  unreserved,  energetic  and  parihesiastic 
characters.  Of  course,  every  one  will  admit  that  there  may 
be  an  extreme  either  way.  But  take  the  average,  the 
moderate  description,  of  each  class,  and  you  will  find  that  a 
dozen  of  the  more  open  and  daring  character,  supposing  an 
ccpiality  in  other  points  in  respect  of  ability,  will  have  had, 
thougli  they  do  commit  a  greater  number  of  actual  tangible 
errors  and  meet  with  a  greater  number  of  distinct  failures, 
have  had  altogether  full  as  much  success,  have  <jot  on  as  well, 
if  not  better,  than  a  dozen  of  the  other. 

Whence  then  the  over-estimate  of  those  who  arc  called  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  2G5 

"prudent?"  Because  tlieir  failares  are,  in  general,  indefi- 
nite, and  are  neither  known  nor  distinctly  existing. .  If  I 
never  go  on  horseback,  I  never  incur  the  definite  evil  of 
being  stopped  in  a  journey  by  a  fall  from  a  horse,  or  by  a 
runaway  or  restive  horse :  I  may  exult  over  the  rider's 
accidents  of  this  kind,  but  in  the  long  run  he  will  have 
accomplished,  in  spite  of  all,  more  journeys  than  I  could  on 
foot.  .  If  I  let  my  land  be  w\aste,  I  shall  not  have  to  reckon, 
this  year  and  that  year,  a  failure  of  crop,  but  my  neighbour, 
with  all  his  losses,  will  perhaps,  make  more  of  his  farm.  He 
who  thinks  it  always  best  not  to  mention  things,  and  thus 
trusts  no  one,  is  never  betrayed,  but  he  loses  all  the  advan- 
tages of  friendship.  "  There  are  other  motes  besides  those 
in  the  sun-beam." 

Men  are  liable  to  form  an  over-estimate  of  the  purity  of 
morals  in  the  Country,  as  compared  with  a  Town ;  or  in  a 
barren  and  thinly-peopled,  as  compared  with  a  fertile  and 
populous  district.  On  a  given  area,  it  must  always  be 
expected,  that  the  absolute  amount  of  vice  will  be  greater  in 
a  Town  than  in  the  Country ;  so  also  will  be  that  of  virtue ; 
but  the  2)roportion  of  the  two  must  be  computed  on  quite 
different  principles.  A  physician  of  great  skill  and  in  high 
repute,  probably  loses  many  more  patients  than  an  ordinary 
practitioner  :  but  this  proves  nothing,  till  we  have  ascertained 
the  comparative  numbers  of  their  patients.  Mistakes  such 
as  this  (which  are  very  frequent)  remind  one  of  the  well- 
known  riddle,  "What  is  the  reason  that  white  sheep  eat 
more  than  black  ones  ?" 

There  is  no  good  reason  for  calling  the  condition  of  the 
rudest  savages  "  a  state  of  nature,"  imless  the  phrase  be  used 
(as  perhaps  in  strictness  it  ought)  to  denote  merely  ignorance 


266  MISCELLANEOUS    APOrilTIIEGMS. 

of  Arts.  A  plant  would  not  be  said  to  be  in  its  natural 
state,  "which  was  growing  in  a  soil  or  climate  that  precluded 
it  from  putting  forth  the  floAvers  and  the  fruit  for  which  its 
organization  was  destined.  In  like  manner,  the  natural 
state  of  man  must,  according  to  all  fair  analogy,  he  reckoned, 
not  that  in  which  his  intellectual  and  moral  growth  arc,  as 
it  were,  stunted,  and  permanently  repressed,  but  one  in 
which  his  original  endowments  are,  not  indeed  brought  to 
perfection,  but  enabled  to  exercise  themselves  and  to  expand, 
like  the  flowers  of  a  plant ;  and  especially,  in  which  that 
characteristic  of  our  species,  the  tendency  towards  progres- 
sive improvement,  is  permitted  to  come  into  play. 

Melancholy  as  it  is  to  see,  as  we  may,  for  instance,  in  our 
own  country,  multitudes  of  Beings  of  such  high  qualifications 
and  such  high  destination  as  Man,  absorbed  in  the  pursuit 
of  merely  temporal  objects  —  occupied  in  schemes  for  obtain- 
ing wealth  and  worldly  aggrandizement,  without  any  higher 
views  in  pursuing  them,  —  we  must  keep  in  mind  that  such  a 
devotedness  to  temporal  objects  is  no  characteristic  of  a  more 
wealthy  and  civilized,  as  distinguished  from  a  more  barbarian, 
state  of  society ;  and  that  the  savage  is  not  above  such  a 
life,  but  heloiv  it.  It  is  not  from  preferring  virtue  to  wealth 
— the  goods  of  the  mind  to  those  of  fortune — the  next  world 
to  the  present  —  that  he  takes  so  little  thought  for  the  mor- 
row ;  but,  from  want  of  forethought  and  habitual  self-com- 
mand. The  civilized  man,  too  often,  directs  those  qualities 
to  an  unworthy  object ;  the  savage,  universally,  is  deficient 
in  the  qualities  themselves.  The  one  is  a  stream  flowing,  too 
often,  in  a  wrong  channel,  and  which  needs  to  have  its  course 
altered ;  the  other  is  a  stagnant  pool. 

The  declaimers  upon  the   incompatibility  or  discordancy 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  267 

of  natural  "Wealth  and  Virtue,  are,  by  their  own  showing, 
mere  declaimers,  and  nothing  more:  Seneca's  discourses  in 
praise  of  poverty  would,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  rivalled  by  many 
writers  of  this  island,  if  one-half  of  the  revenues  he  drew 
from  the  then  inhabitants  of  it,  by  lending  them  money  at 
high  interest,  were  proposed  as  a  prize.  Such  declaimers 
against  wealth  resemble  the  Harpies  of  Virgil,  seeking  to  ex- 
cite disgust  at  the  banquet  of  which  they  are  themselves  eager 
to  partake. 

The  goods  of  this  world  are  by  no  means  a  trifling  concern 
to  Christians,  considered  as  Christians.  They  are,  in  them- 
selves, goods ;  and  it  is  our  part,  instead  of  affecting  un- 
gratefully to  slight  or  to  complain  of  God's  gifts,  to  endea- 
vour to  make  them  goods  to  us,  by  studying  to  use  them 
aright.  Whether  indeed  we  ourselves  sliall  have  enjoyed  a 
large  or  a  small  share  of  them,  will  be  of  no  importance  to 
us  a  hundred  years  hence  ;  but  it  will  be  of  the  greatest 
importance,  whether  we  shall  have  employed  the  faculties 
and  opportunities  granted  to  us,  in  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  those  bounties  of  Providence  among  others. 

Of  the  two  evils  connected  with  a  high  degree  of  division 
of  labour,  which  may  prove  unfavourable  to  national  morality 

—  the  evil  of  reducing  each  man  too  much  to  the  condition 
of  a  mere  machine,  or  rather  one  part  of  a  machine,  by  the 
too  great  concentration  of  the  attention  on  the  performance 
of  a  single,  and  sometimes  very  simple,  operation,  resulting 
in  the  contraction  of  the  faculties  and  consequent  debase- 
ment of  mind  —  and  the  danger  of  being  thrown  out  of  work 

—  the  appropriate  remedies  are,  I  think,  to  be  found  in 
judicious  education  and  habits  of  provident  frugality.  And 
in  another  expedient,  which   provident   good   sense  would 


2G8  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPUTIIEGMS. 

suggest,  as  a  safe-guard  against  the  last  danger,  that  the 
several  members  of  a  family  should  betake  themselves,  as 
far  as  -that  is  possible,  to  different  occupations.  That  ad- 
vanced state  of  society,  whicli  is  the  most  exposed  to  the 
evils,  is  also  the  most  favourable  to  the  application  of  the 
remedies. 

Among  the  classes  of  persons  to  whom  emigration  seems 
peculiarly  appropriate,  may  be  mentioned  that  description  of 
workman,  not  so  frequent  in  this  country  now  as  formerly  : 
viz.,  a  Jack-of -all-trades :  the  perfection  to  Avhich  the  sub- 
division of  labour  has  been  brought,  having  caused  them  to 
fall  into  disrepute.  As  Plato  remarks  of  a  certain  class  of 
philosophers  (who,  notwithstanding  the  lofty  appellation 
bestowed  on  them,  were  neither  more  nor  less  than  artists 
of  this  description),  no  one  chooses  to  employ  the  one  man 
who  can  do  many  things  tolerably,  when  he  can  have 
access  to  several  who  can  do  each  of  them  excellently ;  and 
hence,  though  in  general  men  of  superior  ingenuity,  their 
poverty  is  become  proverbial.  They  have,  accordingly,  the 
more  reason  to  try  their  fortune  in  a  young  settlement,  Avhich 
is  exactly  their  proper  field.  A  scattered  population,  bad 
roads,  remoteliess  from  towns,  and  a  novel  situation,  leave  in 
a  most  helpless  condition  the  man  who  has  concentrated  all 
his  powers  in  learning  to  perform  some  one  operation  very 
skilfully,  and  who  has  no  resources.  A  new  country,  and  a 
young  settlement,  is  the  best  place,  likewise,  for  many  who 
may  have  been  goaded  by  the  pressure  of  distress,  combined 
Avith  the  inflammatory  declamations  of  designing  men,  to  feel 
impatient  of  the  burden  of  taxes  and  poor-rates.  Thus 
irritation  will  have  time  and  opportunity  to  subside,  in  a 
country  where  there  are  no  tumultuous  meetings,  in  populous 
towns,  of  unemployed  manufacturers ;    but  where    all    their 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  260 

neighbours,  as  well  as  themselves,  have  somctliing  better  to 
do,  than  to  set  about  ncAV  modelling  the  constitution, — where 
the  chief  reform  called  for  is  to  convert  forests  into  corn-fields, 
in  which  no  one  will  hinder  them  from  laying  the  axe  to  the 
root  of  the  evil, — and  in  which  the  desire  of  novelty  may  be 
fully  gratified,  without  destroying  established  institutions,  — 
where,  in  short,  the  whole  structure  of  society  is  to  be  built 
up,  without  being  previously  pulled  down. 

Every  settler  in  a  foreign  colony  is,  necessarily,  more  or 
less,  a  missionary  to  the  aborigines  —  a  missionary  for  good, 
or  a  missionary  for  evil  —  operating  upon  them  by  his  life 
and  example. 

It  is  often  said  that  our  Colonies  ought  to  provide  for  their 
own  spiritual  wants.  But  the  more  that  is  done  for  them  in 
this  way,  the  more  likely  they  will  be  to  make  such  provi- 
sion ;  and  the  more  they  are  neglected,  the  less  likely  they 
are  to  do  it.  It  is  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  inestimable 
treasure  of  Christian  Truth  and  Religious  Knowledge,  that 
the  more  it  is  withheld  from  people,  the  less  they  wish  for 
it ;  and  the  more  bestowed  upon  them,  the  more  they  hunger 
and  thirst  after  it.  If  people  are  kept  upon  a  short  allow- 
ance of  food,  they  are  eager  to  obtain  it ;  if  you  keep  a  man 
thirsty,  he  will  become  the  more  and  more  thirsty ;  if  he  is 
poor,  he  is  exceedingly  anxious  to  become  rich ;  but  if  he  is 
left  in  a  state  of  spiritual  destitution,  after  a  time  he  will, 
and  still  more  his  children,  cease  to  feel  it,  and  cease  to  care 
about  it.  It  is  the  last  want  men  can  be  trusted,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  supply  for  themselves. 

The  direct  effects  of  religion  on  national  chai'acter,  few 
will  be  disposed  to  deny,  even  of  those  who  believe  in  no  re- 
23* 


270  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

ligion,  since  of  several  different  forms  of  superstitious  error, 
supposing  all  religions  to  be  such,  one  may  at  least  be  more 
compatible  vrith  moral  improvement  than  another. 

Not,  however,  that  religion  has  not  an  indirect  effect  also, 
through  its  influence  on  national  prosperity.  To  take  one 
point  out  of  many,  War,  which,  if  Christianity  were  heartily 
and  generally  embraced,  would  be  wholly  unknown,  has  been, 
even  as  it  is,  much  mitigated  by  that  humanizing  influence. 
Now  War  is,  in  the  present  day,  generally  regarded,  though 
to  a  far  less  degree  than  it  really  is,  as  a  great  destroyer  of 
wealth.  But  the  direct  demoralizing  effect  of  War  is  pro- 
bably still  greater  than  its  impoverishing  effect.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  Slavery,  in  its  various  forms,  including  the 
serfship  of  the  Russians  and  the  Hungarians.  If  both 
Slavery  and  War  were  at  an  end,  the  wealth  of  nations 
would  increase,  but  their  civilization  in  the  most  important 
parts  Avould  increase  in  a  still  greater  ratio. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  puerile  and  the  semi-barbarian 
condition  of  mind  to  be  disposed  to  violate  the  wise  maxim 
of  "pas  trop  gouverner." 

In  Legislative  Punishment,  the  point  that  should  rank  first 
of,  and  above,  all  other  considerations,  is  that  it  should  be 
formidable,  i.  e.,  that  the  apprehension  of  it  should  operate, 
as  much  as  possible,  to  deter  men  from  crime,  and  thus  to 
prevent  the  necessity  of  its  actual  infliction  ; — secondly,  that 
it  should  be  humane;  i.  e.,  that  it  should  occasion  as  little 
as  possible  of  useless  suffering  —  of  pain  or  inconvenience, 
that  does  not  conduce  to  the  point  proposed ;  —  thirdly,  that 
it  should  be  corrective,  or  at  least  not  corrupting  ;  tending  to 
produce  in  the  criminal  himself,  if  his  life  be  spared,  and  in 
others,  cither  a  moral  improvement,  or,  at  least,  as  little  as 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  271 

possible  of  moral  debasement ; — and  lastly,  that  it  should  be 
cheap.  .  .  .  This  last  point  is  of  fax*  less  conse(iuence  thaa 
the  others. 

The  j^reventive  effects  of  any  system,  whether  for  good  or 
evil,  are  hardly  ever  duly  appreciated.  We  see  the  crimes 
that  are  actually  committed,  and  we  see  the  men  who  are 
hanged  for  them;  we  do  not  see  the  crimes  that  would  be 
committed  if  there  were  no  hanging. 

The  occasions  for  the  exercise  of  a  certain  power  may  be 
very  few,  and  yet  the  existence  of  the  power  not  the  less  im- 
portant ;  because  when  such  an  occasion  does  arise,  (and  it  is 
the  more  likely  to  arise  if  there  be  no  provision  to  meet  the 
emergency,)  the  consequence  of  not  being  prepared  for  it 
may  be  most  disastrous.  If  any  one  should  be  so  wearied 
with  the  monotonous  "All's  well"  of  the  nightly  guardians 
of  a  Camp,  hour  after  hour,  and  night  after  night,  as  to  con- 
clude that  their  service  was  superfluous,  and,  accordingly,  to 
dismiss  them,  how  much  real  danger,  and  how  much  unneces- 
sary apprehension,  would  be  the  result ! 

An  evil  is  not  necessarily  unreal,  because  it  has  been  often 
feared  without  just  cause  ;  the  wolf  does  sometimes  enter  in, 
and  make  havoc  of  the  flock,  although  there  have  been  many 
false  alarms. 

As  custom  will  often  blind  men  to  the  good,  as  Avell  as  to 
the  evil  effects,  of  any  long  established  system,  we  should 
never  alter  for  the  mere  sake  of  altering. 

As  it  would  not  tend  much  to  the  improvement  of  tlie  re- 
gular public  high-roads,  or  to  amend  the  direction  of  them, 


272  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

should  each  man  be  ready  to  break  a  pathAvay  for  hhnself,  as 
his  own  convenience  may  suggest ;  so  nothing  tends  more  to 
prevent  the  regular  abrogation,  or  alteration,  of  unwise  laws, 
than  the  irrcgukir  infringement  or  evasion  of  them. 

The  truest  friend  to  liberty,  is  the  supporter  of  regular 
and  moderate  government ;  and  the  firmest  bulwark  of  royal 
authority,  is  the  judicious  advocate  of  the  subject's  rights. 

Oppression  is  a  false  step,  which  it  is  peculiarly  difficult  to 
retrace.  As  its  brutalizing  effects  cannot  immediately  be 
done  away  by  its  removal,  they  at  once  furnish  a  pretext  for 
justifying  it,  and  make  relief  hazardous.  Kind  and  liberal 
treatment,  if  very  cautiously  and  judiciously  bestowed,  will, 
gradually  and  slowly,  advance  men  towards  the  condition  of 
being  worthy  of  such  treatment :  but  treat  men  as  aliens  or 
enemies,  —  as  slaves,  as  children,  or  as  brutes,  and  they  will 
S])eedily  and  completely  justify  your  conduct. 

The  sense  of  wrong  and  insult  is  often  felt  more  than 
injury.  It  is  unpleasant  in  going  through  a  wood,  to  have 
the  wet  bouglis  bang  against  one's  face ;  but  who  feels  this, 
as  he  should  a  man's  spitting  in  his  face,  and  slapping  him 
at  pleasure  ?  This  should  be  remembered,  when  comparisons 
are  instituted  between  the  condition  of  the  most  hard-worked 
labourer  in  Europe,  and  that  of  a  Slave. 

Some  Systems  arc  defended  —  and  Negro  Slavery  among 
the  rest — by  saying,  that  the  evils  are  merely  incidental,  and 
form  no  part  of  the  design.  If  this  means  merely,  that  no 
system  should  be  at  once  condemned,  solely  because  sonic 
incidental  evils  arc  connected  Avith  it,  as  some  must  be  with 
every  system,  in  this  we  heartily  concur.     Navigation  is  a 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  273 

good  thing,  although  ships  are  occasionally  wrecked,  and 
men  drowned.  But  to  put  out  of  account,  altogether,  the 
greater  or  less  liability  to  abuses,  and  the  greater  or  less 
enormity  of  them,  and  quietly  to  ignore  every  incidental 
evil,  would  be,  in  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life,  regarded  as 
a  proof  of  insanity.  Who,  for  instance,  would  leave  children 
at  play  in  a  room  full  of  loaded  fire-arms,  and  edge-tools, 
and  open  casks  of  gunpowder  ?  Yet  the  tools  were  not 
designed  to  cut  them,  or  the  guns  to  shoot  them.  If  they 
maim,  kill,  or  blow  up  one  another,  these  are  only  abuses. 
The  best  mode  we  can  think  of,  for  disabusing  one  who  holds 
such  an  opinion,  is,  that  he  should  take  up  his  abode  next 
door  to  a  soap-boiler,  with  a  bruzier  on  the  other  side  of  his 
house,  a  slaughter-house  over  the  way,  and  a  store  of  gun- 
powder in  the  vaults  beneath  him ;  being  admonished  at  the 
same  time,  to  remember  that  if  his  eyes,  nose,  and  ears,  are 
incessantly  annoyed,  and  he  is  ultimately  blown  up,  these  are 
only  incidental  evils. 

Some,  even  Englishmen,  who  have  visited  Slave  States, 
are  satisfied  at  being  told  that  the  Slaves  are  far  better  off, 
and  more  civilized  there,  than  in  their  own  barbarian 
countries,  which  is,  probably,  for  the  most  part  true.  But, 
why  have  the  African  countries  continued  so  long  in  gross 
barbarism  ?  They  have  long  had  intercourse  with  Europeans, 
who  might  have  taught  them  to  raise  Sugar  and  Cotton,  &c., 
at  home  for  the  European  markets,  and  in  other  ways  might 
have  civilized  them.  And  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  are 
incapable  of  learning,  since  free  Negroes  in  various  countries, 
though  they  have  the  disadvantage  of  being  a  degraded  caste, 
are  yet  (however  inferior  to  us),  far  advanced  beyond  the 
savage  tribes  of  Africa.  But  it  is  the  very  Slave-trade  itself 
that  has  kept  them  barbarians,  by  encouraging  wars  for  the 


274  MISCELLANEOUS^    APOPHTHEGMS. 

purpose  of  taking  captives  to  be  sold  as  slaves,  and  tlie 
villanous  pvactices  of  kidnapping,  and  trading  in  each 
other's  happiness  and  liberties.  It  is  the  very  system  itself 
■which  men  seek  to  excuse,  by  pointing  out  the  comfortable 
state  of  Slaves  when  they  are  caught  and  sold,  that,  to  a 
great  extent,  produces,  and  must,  if  persisted  in,  perpetuate, 
the  barbarous  condition  Avith  Avliicli  tliis  comparative  comfort 
is  contrasted.  The  whole  of  these  African  tribes  might,  under 
a  better  system,  have  enjoyed,  in  freedom,  far,  very  far, 
greater  comfort  in  their  native  land,  than  that  -which  some  of 
them  now  possess,  as  slaves,  in  a  foreign  land. 

Though  it  may  not  depend  on  each  of  us,  whether  this,  or 
that,  evil  shall  take  place ;  it  does  depend  on  us,  whether  we 
shall  have  any  share  in  it. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  the  odd  limitations  of  power,  in 
those  who  seem  despotic,  and  yet  cannot  do  what  seem  little 
things ;  e.  g.,  Avhen  the  Romans  took  possession  of  Egypt, 
the  people  submitted,  without  the  least  resistance,  to  have 
their  lives  and  j^fopcrty  at  the  mercy  of  a  foreign  nation. 
But  o.ne  of  the  Roman  soldiers  happening  to  kill  a  cat  in  the 
streets  of  Alexandria,  they  rose  on  him  and  tore  him  from 
limb  to  limb  ;  and  the  excitement  was  so  violent  that  the 
generals  overlooked  the  outrage  for  fear  of  insurrection  ! — 
Claudius  Ctesar  tried  to  introduce  a  letter  which  was  wanting 
in  the  Roman  Alphabet ;  the  consonant  V  as  distinct  from 
U,  they  having  but  one  character  for  l^oth.  He  ordained 
that  ^  (an  F  reversed)  should  be  that  character.  It  appears 
on  some  inscriptions  in  his  time ;  but  he  could  not  establish 
it;  though  he  conld  kill  or  jJlunder  his  subjects  at  pleasure! 
So  can  the  Emperor  of  Russia :  but  he  cannot  change  the 
8ti/le.     It  would  displace  the  days  of  saints  whom  his  people 


MIvSCELLANE0U3    APOPHTHEGMS.  275 

•worship,  and  it  would  produce  a  formidable  insurrection  ! 
Other  instances  of  this  strange  kind  of  anomaly  might  doubt- 
less be  produced. 

It  is  supposed  by  most  people,  that  Trial  by  Jury,  as  it 
now  exists,  is  one  of  our  most  ancient  institutions.  But 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  that,  originally,  causes  were 
decided,  not  by  the  Jury,  but  entirely  by  the  Judge.  In 
order  to  aid  him  in  the  Trial,  twelve  men  of  respectable 
character  were  taken  from  the  neighbourhood  where  the 
witnesses  lived,  as  being  likely  to  know  something  of  them, 
and  to  be  able  to  form  a  judgment  how  far  each  of  them  was 
to  be  trusted.  And  after  these  witnesses  had  been  examined 
in  their  presence,  they  gave  their  opinion  on  the  whole  of  the 
evidence,  and  the  Judge  decided.  By  degrees,  however,  the 
opinion  [or  verdict]  of  the  Jury  came  to  be  regarded  as 
decisive  ;  and  the  Judge  merely  "  pronounced  judgment,"  (as 
is  done  now)  according  to  the  Verdict. 

So  little  do  Historians  dwell  on  those  ordinary  transac- 
tions of  human  life,  which  furnish  the  data  from  which  the 
social  progress  of  nations  may  be  estimated,  that  this  kind 
of  information  is  introduced,  for  the  most  part,  only  inciden- 
tally and  obliquely;  and  is  to  be  collected,  imperfectly, 
from  scattered  allusions.  So  that  if  you  will  give  a  rapid 
glance,  for  instance,  at  the  history  of  these  islands  from  the 
time  of  the  Norman  conquest  to  the  present  day,  not  only  do 
we  find  little  mention  of  the  causes  of  social  progress,  but 
what  we  chiefly  do  read  of  is,  the  counteracting  causes  ;  viz., 
wars,  revolutions,  and  disturbances  of  every  kind.  Now,  if 
a  ship  had  performed  a  voyage  of  800  leagues,  and  the 
register  of  it  contained  an  account  chiefly  of  the  contrary 
winds  and  currents,  and  made  little  mention  of  favourable 


276  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPnTHEGMS. 

gales,  we  might  well  be  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  she 
reached  her  destination,  and  might  even  be  led  into  the 
mistake  of  supposing  that  the  contrary  winds  had  IbrAvarded 
her  in  her  course.  Yet  such  is  Historj'-.  —  It  may  be  said  to 
be  the  record  of  the  impediments  to  social  progress. 

It  has  often  occurred  to  me,  that  the  Longevity  of  the 
Antediluvians  may  have  been  a  special  provision  to  meet  the 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  social  progress,  which  in  those 
early  ages  must  have  existed  before  .the  invention,  and  the 
familiar  use,  of  writing  had  enabled  each  generation  to 
record,  for  the  use  of  the  next,  not  only  its  discoveries,  but 
its  observations,  and  incomplete  experiments.  For  the  more 
you  speculate  on  the  probable  origin  of  the  various  arts, 
which  are  the  most  universal  among  mankind,  the  more  you 
will  be  struck  with  this  consideration,  that  many  of  the 
commonest  arts,  and  which  appear  the  simplest,  and  require 
but  a  very  humble  degree  of  intelligence  for  their  exercise^ 
are  yet  such,  that  we  must  suppose  various  accidents  to  have 
occurred,  and  to  have  been  noted  —  many  observations  to 
have  been  made,  and  combined  —  and  many  experiments  to 
have  been  made,  in  order  to  their  being  originally  invented. 
Even  now  that  Avriting  is  in  use,  a  single  individual,  if  he 
live  long  enough  to  follow  up  a  train  of  experiments,  has  a 
great  advantage,  in  respect  of  discoveries,  over  a  succession 
of  individuals ;  because  he  will  recollect,  when  the  occasion 
arises,  many  of  his  former  observations,  and  of  the  ideas 
that  had  occurred  to  his  mind,  which,  at  the  time  he  had 
not  thought  worth  recording.  But  previous  to  the  use  of 
writing,  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  combine,  in  one's 
own  person,  the  experience  of  several  centuries,  must  have 
been  of  immense  importance  ;  and  it  was  an  advantage  which 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  seemed  to  require. 


MTSCRLLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  277 

The  absence  of  written  records  is,  though  a  very  important, 
rather  a  secondary,  than  a  primar^^,  obstacle,  to  any  forward 
movement  in  a  Community.  It  is  one  branch  of  that 
general  characteristic  of  the  Savage, — improvidence.  If  you 
suppose  the  case  of  a  savage  taught  to  read  and  Avrite,  but 
allowed  to  remain  in  all  other  respects,  the  same  careless, 
thoughtless  kind  of  Being,  and  afterwards  left  to  himself,  he 
would  most  likely  forget  his  acquisition,  and  would  certainly, 
by  neglecting  to  teach  it  to  his  children,  suffer  it  to  be  lost 
in  the  next  generation.  On  the  other  hand,— if  you  conceive 
such  a  case  —  (Avhich  certainly  is  conceivable,  and  I  am  dis- 
posed to  think  it  a  real  one  :)  as  that  of  a  people  ignorant  of 
this  art,  but  acquiring  in  some  degree  a  thoughtful  and 
provident  character,  1  have  little  doubt,  that  their  desire, 
thence  arising,  to  record  permanently  their  Laws,  practical 
maxims,  and  discoveries,  would  gradually  lead  them,  first,  to 
the  use  of  memorial-verses  ;  and  afterwards,  to  some  kind  of 
natural  symbols,  such  as  picture-writing,  and  the  hiero- 
glyphics ;  which  migJit  gradually  be  still  further  improved 
into  writing,  properly  so  called. 

We  have  no  direct  information  as  to  the  immediate  cause 
of  the  great  longevity  of  the  earliest  generations  of  men. 
But  it  seems  likely  it  may  have  been  produced  by  the  influ- 
ence of  '■''the  Tree  of  Life  ;'  a  vestige  of  an  early  tradition 
respecting  which  appears  in  Homer,  representing  his  gods  as 
supporting  perpetual  life  and  vigour  by  drinking  nectar,  and 
eating  Amhrozia  (that  is,  immortality.) 

That  the  produce  of  this  tree,  (whether  its  fruits  or  its 
leaves)  was  endued  by  the  Creator  with  some  property  of 
warding  off  death,  we  are  plainly  taught,  both  by  its  name, 
and  by  the  exclusion  of  Adam  from  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
"lest  he  should  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  live  for  ever." 
24 


278  MISCELLANEOr.^    APOIMIXnKUMS. 

It  is  likely  that  it  had  the  medicinal  virtue,  when  applied 
from  time  to  time,  of  preventing,  or  curing,  the  decay  of  old 
age ;  just  as  our  ordinary  food  preserves  men  from  dying  of 
exhaustion  by  famine  ;  and  as  several  well-known  medicines 
prevent,  or  cure,  certain  diseases.  We  know  indeed,  that 
there  docs  not  exist  now  any  medicine  that  has  the  virtue  of 
keeping  up,  or  reneAving,  youthfid  health  or  vigour.  But 
such  a  medicine  would  not  be,  in  itself,  at  all  more  strange 
than  many  things  which  we  are  familiar  with,  but  whose 
effects  wo  cannot  explain,  and  could  never  have  conjectuyed. 

For  example,  that  opium  and  some  other  drugs  should  pro- 
duce sleep,  and  strong  liquors,  a  kind  of  temporary  madness, 
is  what  no  one  would  ever  have  thought  of,  if  he  had  never 
heard  of  it,  nor  seen  the  experiment  tried  of  swallowing 
those  substances.  Nor,  even  if  he  were  a  skilful  chemist, 
would  he  be  able,  by  analysing  them,  to  conjecture  what 
their  eflfects  would  be.  If  then  the  Tree  of  Life  were  such 
a  medicine  as  we  have  supposed,  a  person  Avho  ahvays  con- 
tinued the  use  of  it,  from  time  to  time,  would  continue 
exempt  from  decay  and  death. 

But  supposing  some  persons,  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
using  it  (as  our  first  parents  doubtless  had,  since  there  was 
nothing  to  prevent  them)  should  afterwards  cease  to  use  it, 
their  constitution  would,  probably,  have  been  so  far  fortified, 
that  though  they  would  at  length  die,  yet  they  Avould  live 
much  longer  than  man's  natural  term.  And  they  would  even 
be  likely  to  transmit  to  their  descendants  sucli  a  constitu- 
tion, as  would  confer  on  those,  also,  a  great  degree  of  lon- 
gevity, which  would  only  wear  out  gradually,  in  many  suc- 
cessive generations. 

Now  it  is  remarkable,  that  this  exactly  agrees  with  what 
wc  do  find  recorded.  If  we  look  into  those  parts  of  the 
IVihle  history,   which  relate  to   this    subject,  wo    shall  find 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  279 

man's  life,  in  the  earliest  generations,  extending  to  eight  or 
nine  centuries,  and  upwards.  And  we  shall  find  longevity 
gradually  diminishing  in  each  generation,  down  to  the  times 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  who  lived  rather  less  than 
two  hundred  years ;  and  again,  down  to  the  time  of  Moses, 
who  began  his  mission  apparently  in  the  full  vigour  of  life  at 
four-score,  and  lived  to  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Joshua,  wlio 
succeeded  him,  lived  one  huudred  and  ten  years.  And  from 
thence  forward,  human  life  appears  to  have  been  brought 
down  to  about  its  present  limit. 

The  above  seems  to  be  the  most  clear,  easy,  and  natural 
interpretation  of  those  parts  of  Scripture  we  have  been  ex- 
amining. There  is  not,  however,  any  such  distinct  revelation 
on  the  subject  as  to  authorize  our  pronouncing  confidently 
that  such  must  be  the  right  interpretation,  and  making  this 
an  article  of  faith. 

The  subject  of  Animal  Instinct  seems  to  form  a  point  of 
contact  between  Natural  History  and  the  Philosophy  of  the 
Human  Mind.  And  yet,  beneficial  and  interesting  as  this 
circumstance  alone  might  make  this  particular  branch  of 
study,  a  treatise  upon  Instinct  is  still  a  desideratum  ;  some- 
thing like  a  philosophic  or  systematic  view  of  the  subject  — 
a  distinct  and  satisfactory  ansAver  to  the  question;  "  What  do 
you  mean  by  Instinct?"  —  is  still  wanting.  It  seems,  that 
however  far  advanced  we  may  be  in  a  Dlctionanj  on  the 
subject  of  Instinct,  a  G-rammar  is  a  thing  very  much 
wanted. 

To  say,  as  many  are  accustomed  to  do,  that  Brutes  are 
actuated  solely  by  Instinct,  and  Man  by  Reason,  is  contrary 
to  the  implied  rule,  that  a  Being  is  acting  instinctively  when 
impelled  blindly  towards  some  end  which  the  Agent  docs  not 


280  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOrHTHEGMS. 

aim  at  or  perceive ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  is  acting 
rationallj,  when  acting  with  a  view  to,  and  for  the  sake  of, 
some  end  which  it  docs  perceive.  For,  as  some  things  felt 
and  done  by  Man  are  allowed  to  be  purely  instinctive  —  as 
hunger  and  thirst,  for  instance,  are  evidently  instincts  —  so 
many  things  done  by  brutes,  at  least  by  the  higher  descrip- 
tion of  brutes,  would  be,  if  done  by  man,  regarded  as  result- 
ing from  the  exercise  of  Reason. 

In  many  instances  we  know  this  is  not  the  case.  A  man 
builds  a  house  from  Reason  —  a  bird  builds  a  nest  from 
Instinct ;  and  no  one  would  say  that  the  bird,  in  this  acted 
from  Reason.  But  in  other  instances,  Man  not  only  does  the 
same  things  as  the  brutes,  but  does  them  from  the  same  kind 
of  impulse,  which  should  be  called  instinctive,  whether  in 
man  or  brute.  And  again,  several  things  are  done  by 
brutes,  which  are  evidently  not  instinctive,  but,  to  all  appear- 
ance, no  less  rational  than  human  acts :  being  not  only  the 
same  actions,  but  done  from  the  same  impulse.  The  domes- 
tic animals  exhibit  many  instances  of  this.  There  is  an  in- 
cident upon  record,  and  there  seems  no  ground  for  doubting 
it,  of  a  dog,  Avhicli  being  left  on  the  bank  of  a  river  by  his 
master  who  had  gone  up  the  river  in  a  boat,  attempted  to 
join  him.  He  plunged  into  the  water,  but  not  making  al- 
lowance for  the  strength  of  the  stream,  which  carried  him 
considerably  below  the  boat,  he  could  not  beat  up  against  it. 
He  landed,  and  made  allowance  for  the  current  of  the  river, 
by  leaping  in  at  a  place  higher  up.  The  combined  action  of 
the  stream  and  his  swimming,  carried  him  in  an  oblique  di- 
rection, and  he  thus  reached  the  boat.  I  do  not  vouch  for 
the  accuracy  of  this  anecdote ;  but  I  see  no  grounds  for  dis- 
believing it,  as  it  is  of  a  piece  with  many  other  recorded 
instances. 

There  is  another  instance  of  this  nature,  which  did  come 


MISCELLANEOUS    AI'Ol'nTIIEGMS.  281 

under  my  own  observation,  in  -wliicli  the  actor  was  a  cat  — 
a  species  of  animal  generally  considered  very  inferior  in 
sagacity  to  a  dog.  This  cat  was  known,  not  merely  once  or 
twice,  but  habitually,  to  ring  the  parlour-bell  whenever  it 
wished  the  door  to  be  opened.  Some  alarm  was  excited  on 
the  first  occasion  that  it  turned  bell-ringer.  The  family  had 
retired  to  rest,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  night  the  parlour- 
bell  was  rung  violently :  the  sleepers  were  startled  from  their 
repose,  and  proceeded  down  stairs,  with  pokers  and  tongs,  to 
intercept,  as  they  thought,  the  predatory  movements  of  some 
burglar  ;  but  they  w^ere  agreeably  surprised  to  discover  that 
the  bell  had  been  rung  by  Pussy,  who  frequently  repeated 
the  act  w^henever  she  wanted  to  get  out  of  the  parlour. 

Hei'e  are  two  clear  cases  of  acts  done  by  a  cat  and  dog, 
which,  if  done  by  a  man,  would  be  called  reason.  Every 
one  would  admit  that  the  actions  were  rational  —  not,  to  be 
sure,  proceeding  from  a  very  high  exertion  of  intellect :  but 
the  dog,  at  least,  rationally  jumped  into  the  stream  at  a 
distance  higher  up  from  the  boat  into  which  he  wished  to  get, 
because,  having  made  the  trial,  and  failed,  he  apparently 
judged  from  the  failure  of  the  first  attempt,  that  his  course 
was  to  go  up  the  stream,  make  alloAvanco  for  its  strength,  and 
thus  gain  the  boat ;  he  found  that  it  Avould  then  carry  him  to 
it  instead  of  from  it ;  and  the  cat  pulled  the  parlour-bell, 
because  she  had  observed,  that  when  it  was  rung  by  the  family, 
the  servant  opened  the  door. 

It  appears,  then,  that  Ave  can  neither  deny  Reason  univer- 
sally and  altogether  to  brutes,  nor  Instinct  to  Man ;  but  that 
each  possesses  a  share  of  both,  though  in  very  different 
proportions.  And  yet  the  difierence  between  man  and  brute, 
in  respect  of  intelligence,  appears  plainly  to  be  not  a  difier- 
ence in  mere  degree  but  in  kind.  An  intelligent  brute  is  not 
like  a  stupid  man.  The  intelligence  and  sagacity  shown  by 
24  * 


282  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

the  elephant,  monkey,  and  dog,  are  something  very  different 
from  the  lowest  and  most  stupid  of  human  beings. 

In  fact,  in  the  most  striking  instances  in  which  brutes 
display  reason,  all  the  intellectual  operation  seems  to  con- 
sist in  the  combination  of  means  to  an  end.  The  dog  who 
swam  from  a  higher  part  of  the  river  to  reach  the  boat ;  the 
cat  who  rang  the  bell  to  call  the  servant ;  these,  and  many 
other  similar  instances  of  sagacity,  appear  to  consist  but  in 
this. 

But  the  great  difference  between  Man  and  the  higher 
brutes  appears  to  me  to  consist  in  the  power  of  using  SIGNS 
— arbitrary  signs — and  employing  language  as  an  instrument 
of  thought.  We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  language  as 
useful  to  man,  to  communicate  his  thoughts.  I  consider  this  as 
only  one  of  the  uses  of  language.  That  use  of  language 
which,  though  commonly  overlooked,  is  the  most  characteris- 
tic of  Man,  is  an  instrument  of  thought.  Man  is  not  the 
only  animal  that  can  make  use  of  language  to  express  what 
is  passing  within  his  mind,  and  that  can  understand,  more  or 
less,  what  is  so  expressed  by  another.  Some  brutes  can  be 
taught  to  utter,  and  many  others,  to  understand,  more  or  less 
imperfectly,  sounds  expressive  of  certain  emotions.  Every 
one  knows  that  the  dog  understands  the  general  drift  of  ex- 
pressions used ;  and  parrots  can  be  taught  not  only  to 
pronounce  words,  but  to  pronounce  them  with  some  con- 
sciousness of  the  general  meaning  of  what  they  utter.  They 
call  for  food ;  when  displeased,  scold ;  and  use  expressions 
in  reference  to  particular  persons  which  they  have  heard 
applied  to  them.  Almost  every  animal  which  is  capable  of 
being  tamed,  can,  in  some  degree,  use  language  as  an  indica- 
tion of  what  passes  within.  But  no  animal  has  the  use  of 
language  as  an  "instrument  of  thought."  Man  makes  use 
of  UEA'EiiAL  SIGNS  iu  the  application  of  his  power  of  Abstrac- 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  288 

tlon,  by  Tvhich  he  is  enabled  to  reason  ;  and  the  use  of  arbi- 
trary general  signs,  what  logicians  call  ''common  terms,'" 
with  a  facility  of  thus  using  Abstraction  at  pleasure,  is  a 
characteristic  of  Man. 

The  implanting  and  modification  of  Instinct  in  animals,  in 
consequence  of  the  education  received  by  many  generations 
of  their  predecessors,  is  a  point  well  worthy  of  inquiry. 
The  most  widely  diffused  of  all  implanted  and  modified 
Instincts  is  that  of  "Wildness  or  Tameness.  Whether  the 
original  Instinct  of  brutes  was  to  be  afraid  of  man,  or  familiar 
with  him,  I  will  not  undertake  to  say.  My  own  belief  is 
that  it  is  the  fear  of  man  that  is  the  implanted  instinct. 
But  at  any  rate,  it  is  plain  that  either  the  one  or  the  other — 
wildness  or  tameness  —  must  be  implanted,  and  not  an 
original,  Instinct.  All  voyagers  agree,  that  when  they  have 
gone  into  a  country,  which  had  not  apparently  been  visited 
by  man,  neither  bird  nor  beast  exhibited  fear.  The  birds 
perched  familiarly  upon  their  guns,  or  stood  still  to  be 
knocked  on  the  head.  After  the  country  had  been  for  some 
time  frequented,  not  only  individual  animals  become  afraid 
of  man,  but  their  offspring  inherit  that  fear  by  Instinct. 

There  are  many  cases  in  which  it  cannot  be  ascertained 
towards  what  the  immediate  impulses  of  animals  tend.  We 
do  not  know  through  the  medium  of  what  organs  birds  are 
induced  to  put  food  into  the  mouths  of  their  young.  We  see 
a  pair  of  birds  searching  all  day  long  for  food ;  and,  in  many 
instances,  the  food  they  seek  is  such  as  they  do  not  feed  on 
themselves — for  example,  granivorous  birds  hunt  after  cater- 
pillars for  their  young :  in  other  cases  they  seek  for  food 
which  their  own  appetite  incites  tlieni  to  eat ;  but  they 
treasure  it  for  their  young,  and  are  impelled  by  an  instinctive 
appetite  to  put  it  into  its  mouth  when  opened.     And  this 


284  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

instinct  is  not  peculiar  to  birds.  The  mammalia  partake  of 
it ;  for  we  find  wolves,  dogs,  and  other  carnivorous  animals 
bringing  home  meat,  and  leaving  it  before  their  young  ones. 
If  a  bitch  or  wolf  has  pups,  and  cannot  bring  food  to  them 
otherwise  than  by  first  swallowing  it,  she  swallows  it,  and 
then  disgorges  it ;  for  the  animal  has  the  power  of  evacuating 
its  stomach  at  pleasure.  Pigeons  invariably  swallow  their 
food  before  they  give  it  to  their  young.  —  Take  the  case  of 
migratory  birds  —  even  those  which  have  been  caged  :  when 
a  particular  season  arrives,  they  desire  to  fly  in  a  certain 
direction  ;  but  Avhat  leads  them  in  that  direction  cannot  be 
understood.  That  direction  is  pointed  out  to  them  by  God ; 
but  how  pointed  out  is  only  known  to  Ilim.  And  how  delight- 
ful to  a  pious  mind  is  it  to  contemplate  every  proof  of  the 
wisdom,  goodness,  and  power  of  God  —  to  mark  everywhere 
the  work  of  that  same  Creator's  hand  who  has  filled  the 
universe  with  the  monuments  of  His  wisdom  !* 

There  is  a  remarkable  phenomenon  connected  with  insect 
life  which  has  often  occurred  to  my  mind  while  meditating  on 
the  subject  of  preparedness  for  a  future  state,  as  presenting 
a  curious  analogy. 

Most  persons  know  that  every  butterfly  (the  Greek  name 
for  which,  it  is  remarkable,  is  the  same  that  signifies  also  the 
Soul,  —  Pnyche)  comes  from  a  grub  or  caterpillar ;  in  the 
language  of  naturalists  called  a  larva.  The  last  name  (which 
signifies  literally  a  mask)  was  introduced  by  Linnaeus,  because 
the  caterpillar  is  a  kind  of  outward  covering,  or  disguise,  of 
the  future  butterfly  within.  For,  it  has  been  ascertained  by 
curious    microscopic  examination,  that  a   distinct  butterfly, 


*  For  proceedings  of  rational  agents  analogous  to  InBtinct,  see  page 


MISCK],LANMUUS    AI'OPIITIIECJMS.  285 

only  undeveloped  a-nd  not  full-<:;rown,  is  contained  uitliin  tlio 
body  of  the  caterpillav  ;  that  this  latter  has  its  own  or;^ans 
of  digestion,  respiration,  &c.,  suitabks  to  its  larva- life,  ([uiio 
distinct  from,  and  independent  ol",  the  future  butterlly  which 
it  encloses.  When  the  proper  period  arrives,  and  the  lil'e  of 
the  insect,  in  this  its  first  stage,  is  to  close,  it  becomes  what 
is  called  a  Pupa,  enclosed  in  a  Chrysalis  or  Cocoon  (often 
composed  of  silk  ;  as  is  that  of  the  silkworm  which  supplies 
us  that  important  article),  and  lies  torpid  i'or  a  time  within 
this  natural  coilin,  from  which  it  issues,  at  the  i)roper  period, 
as  a  perfect  butterlly. 

But  sometimes  this  process  is  marred.     There  is  a  numer- 
ous tribe  of  insects  well  known  to  naturalists,  called  Ichneu- 
mon-Hies ;  which  in  their  larva-state  arc  parasitical  ;  that  is, 
inhabit,  and  feed  on,  other  larv«.    The  Ichneumon-lly,  being 
provided  with  a  long  sharp  sting,  Avhich  is  in  fact  an  ovipositor 
(egg-layer),  pierces  with  this    the  body  of   a  caterpillar  in 
several  places,  iind  deposits  her  eggs  which  arc  there  hatched, 
and  feed,  as  gruhs  (larv;e)  on  the  inward  parts  of  their  victim. 
— A  most  wonderlul  circumstance  connected  with  this  process 
is,  that  a  cateri)illar  which  has  been  thus  attacked  goes  on 
feeding  and    apparently  thriving  quite    as    well  during  the 
whole  of  its  larva-life,  as  those  that  have  escaped.     For,  by 
a  wonderful  provision  of  instinct,  the  ichneumon-grubs  within 
do  not  injure  any  of  the  organs  of  the  larva,  but  feed  only 
on  the  future  butterly  enclosed  Avithin  it.    And  consequently, 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  distinguish  a  caterpillar  which  has 
these  enemies  within  it  from  those  that  are  untouched. — But 
vrhen  the  ])eriod  arrives  for  tlie   close  of  the  larva-life,  the 
dilference    ajipears.     You    may  often    observe    the  common 
cabbage-caterpillars  retiring,  to  undergo   their  change,  into 
some  sheltered  s})ot — such  as  the  walls  of  a  summer-house  ; 
and  some  of  them — those  that  have  escaped  the  })arasites — 


286  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS. 

assuming  the  pupa-state,  from  Avliich  they  emerge  butterflies. 
Of  tlie  unfortunate  caterpillar  that  has  been  preyed  upon, 
nothing  remains  but  an  empty  skin.  The  hidden  butterfly 
has  been  secretly  consumed.  ISI'ow  is  there  not  somethiiig 
analogous  to  this  wonderful  phenomenon  in  the  condition  of 
some  of  our  race :  —  may  not  a  man  have  a  kind  of  secret 
enemy  within  his  own  bosom,  destroying  his  Soul, — Psyche, 
—  though  without  interfering  with  his  well-being  during  the 
present  stage  of  his  existence ;  and  whose  presence  may 
never  be  detected  till  the  time  arrives  when  the  last  great 
change  should*  take  place?  —  Every  man  should  reflect 
whether  this  may  not  be  his  case ;  remembering  that  it  is  in 
his  power  now,  through  the  help  that  is  promised,  to  detect 
and  destroy  these  secret  but  deadly  enemies  within  him  ! 

The  great  difficulty  is,  not  to  make  men  believe  in  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  but  to  make  them  seriously 
and  earnestly  think  about  it :  and  this  will  be  the  hardest 
task  in  the  case  of  those  whose  serious  thoughts  are  taken 
up  with  worldly  pursuits.  There  is  more  hope  of  converting 
a  sensualist  than  an  avaricious,  or  ambitious,  calculating, 
worldly  man.  Accordingly,  during  the  ministry  of  our  Lord 
such  men  rejected  Ilim  whilst  the  publicans  and  sinners 
heard  Him  gladly.  The  voluptuary  does  very  often  heartily 
despise  the  whole  Avorld,  and  everything  in  it,  his  own  pur- 
suits included.  One  reason,  indeed,  for  this  may  be,  that 
he  has  tried  the  value  of  his  own  objects :  whereas,  those 
who  are  pursuing  distant  objects,  are  always  likely  to  over- 
rate them,  from  the  dazzling  colours  in  which  hope  decks 
them  out. 

Many  a  man,  who  may  admit  it  to  be  impossible  to  serve 
God  and  jSlammon,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  yet  Avishcs  to 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOPHTHEGMS.  287 

serve  Mammon  and  God;  first  the  one,  as  long  as  lie  is  able; 
and  then,  the  other. 

There  occurs  in  a  late  number  of  a  leading  Periodical  a 
remark,  which  one  may  find  also  in  the  mouths  of  many,  and 
in  the  minds  of  very  many  more ;  that  the  great  diversity  of 
religious  opinions  prevailing  in  the  world,  and  the  absence 
of  all  superhuman  provision  against  them,  is  a  proof  that  it 
is  the  will  of  the  Almighty  that  such  should  be  the  case ;  — • 
that  men  were  designed  to  hold  all  diversities  of  religious 
belief.  Noav,  the  inference  which  will  naturally  be  drawn, 
on  further  reflection,  from  this  is,  that  it  is  no  matter 
whether  Ave  hold  truth  or  falsehood ;  and  next,  that  there  is 
no  truth  at  all  in  any  religion. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  same  reasoning  would  go  to  prove 
that  since  there  is  no  infallible  and  universally-accessible 
guide  in  morals,  and  men  greatly  differ  in  their  judgments 
of  what  is  morally  right  and  wrong,  hence  we  are  to  infer 
that  God  did  not  design  men  to  agree  on  this  point  neither, 
and  that  it  matters  not  whether  we  act  on  riccht  or  wrong: 
principles  ;  and,  in  short,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  right 
and  wrong ;  but  only  what  each  man  thinks.  The  two 
opposite  errors  (as  Ave  think  them)  from  the  same  source,  are, 
"If  God  wills  all  men  to  belicA'o,  and  to  act  rightly.  He 
must  have  given  us  an  infallible  and  accessible  guide  for 
belief  and  practice.  (1.)  But  he  does  so  Avill ;  therefore, 
there  is  such  a  guide  :  and  (2.)  He  has  not  gwan  us  any 
such  guide  :  therefore,  He  does  not  Avill  all  men  to  belicA^e 
and  act  rightly." 

NoAV  this  is  to  confound  the  two  senses  of  WILL,  as  dis- 
tinguished in  the  concluding  paragraph  of  the  17th  Article 
of  the  Church  of  England.  In  a  certain  sense,  the  most 
absurd  errors,  and  the  most  heinous  crimes  may  be  said  to 


288  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

be  according  to  the  Divine  Will ;  since  God  does  not  inter- 
pose Ilis  omnipotence  to  i)rcvent  tlicm.  But  "  in  our  doings" 
says  that  Article,  "  that  Avill  of  God  is  to  be  follo^Yed  Avhich 
•we  have  expressly  declared  in  IIolj  Writ." 

Men  only  delude  themselves  by  giving  way  to  that  craving 
after  infallibility,  -which  is  part  of  our  corrupt  nature.  —  For 
it  is  plainly  not  God's  intention  tO  exempt  us  from  all  danger 
of  mistake,- and  all  labour  of  enquiry,  and  the  responsibility 
of  exercising  our  own  judgments,  whether  good  or  bad,  in 
matters  of  the  greatest  importance. 

In  all  the  most  important  aifairs  of  this  life,  we  are  obliged 
to  act  upon  mere  probabilities,  and  sometimes,  very  weak 
probabilities.  With  respect  to  this  life,  as  well  as  the  life  to 
come,  our  highest  interests  require  us  to  act  continually  with 
regard  to  the  future.  Yet,  we  have  no  infallible  guidance 
at  all  with  respect  to  what  will  happen  to-morrow.  We  are 
left  to  calculate,  as  we  best  can,  what  is  most  likely ;  and 
consider  carefully  what  is,  under  all  the  circumstances,  the 
most  prudent  course  for  us  to  take.  Nay,  it  is  very  remark- 
able that  our  knowledge  is  much  more  full  and  complete  of 
things  which  do  not  directly  concern  us,  than  of  those  which 
do.  We  can  foretell  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  for 
centuries  to  come ;  but,  as  to  things  at  our  own  doors,  we 
"  know  not  Avhat  a  day  may  bring  forth."  The  things 
within  our  foreaiglit  and  certain  knowledge  are  out  of  our 
power ;  and  the  things  within  our  power  are  out  of  our 
foresight. 

It  has  been  objected  to  Prayer  that  it  is  unnecessary, 
because  God  must  know  our  wants,  whether  we  supplicate 
Ilim  or  not.  —  True;  lie  knows  our  wants,  but  not  our 
humble  supplications  to  Ilim  for  aid,  unless  we  make  such 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  289 

supplications.  Now,  it  is  to  our  prayers,  not  to  our  wants, 
that  His  gifts  are  promised.  He  docs  not  say  "  Need,  and 
ye  shall  have;  tvant,  and  ye  shall  find;"  but,  ''^  Ask,  and  ye 
shall  have;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find." 

A  well-framed  Liturgy  in  constant  use,  is  not  only  a  help 
to  public  worship,  but  a  standing  monitor,  both  to  the 
Minister  and  his  Congregation ;  the  Minister,  when  he  is 
reading  it,  testifying  with  his  own  mouth,  against  the  errors, 
if  such  there  be,  of  his  own  preaching  ;  and  the  Congregation 
being  warned  either  to  supply  what  is  wanting,  or  to  reject 
what  is  faulty,  or  to  inquire  respecting  what  is  doubtful. 

That  Infidelity  is  daily  spreading,  is  a  complaint  one  hears 
on  all  sides.  It  behoves  every  good  Christian  to  look 
narrowly  for  the  spring  of  that  bitter  stream  which  is  well- 
ing fast,  though  often  silently,  all  around  us.  Now,  any  one 
who  considers  the  tendency  of  much  of  the  teaching  abroad 
in  the  present  day  to  create  and  foster,  irreligion,  will  see 
rather  less  reason  to  wonder  at  the  amount  of  it  that  now 
exists,  than  ground  for  alarming  apprehensions  of  its  in- 
crease. —  For,  let  a  man  be  but  once  convinced  —  1st,  that 
Christianity  cannot  stand  the  test  of  enquiry ; — 2ndly,  that 
he  has  no  ground  for  certainty  as  to  the  real  belief  of  those 
who  teach  it ; — 3rdly,  that  Scripture  need  not  be  studied ;  — 
4thly,  that  he  had  better  withdraw  his  thoughts  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  subject,  since  otherwise  he  could  not  but 
exercise  that  private  judgment  which  is  forbidden;  —  and 
Stilly,  that  Christianity  is  mainly  a  system  of  outward  ordi- 
nances,—  let  him  but  adopt  all  these  notions,  and  what  is 
there  to  stand  between  him  and  Infidelity,  or  Indifferentism  ? 

When  men  talk  of  the  necessity  of  accommadativg  the  re- 
ligion preached  by  the  Apostles  to  the  tastes  and  manners 
25 


290  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

of  men,  they  forget  that  the  great  aim  of  Christianity  is  to 
regenerate  Man's  Nature.  Christianity  does  not  (as  the  law 
of  Moses  did)  permit  things  on  accoimt  of  the  "hardness" 
of  men's  hearts ;  because  it  brings  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit,  -which  is  given  to  change  our  hearts,  and  make  u.s 
"new  creatures."  Accordingly,  though  the  Pagans  in  Italy 
were,  in  Paul's  time,  fond  of  altars  and  sacrifices,  images, 
shoAvs,  and  gaudy  processions,  that  Apostle  never  thought 
of  accommodating  the  simple  worship  of  tho  Church  to  their 
tastes  ;  and  the  Greeks  at  Corinth  were  quite  as  fond  as  the 
modern  schoolmen  of  subtle  and  abstruse  enquiries.  Paul 
was  so  far  from  indulging  them  therein,  that,  for  that  very 
reason,  he  determined  to  "know  nothing  among  them,  but 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified." 

The  liberality  of  some  men,  is  but  indifierencc  clad  in  the 
garb  of  candour. 

Tenderness  towards  the  faulty,  is  charity ;  tenderness 
towards  the  fault,  is  indifierence  about  right  and  wrong. 

If  our  religion  is  not  true,  Ave  are  bound  to  change  it ;  if 
it  is  true,  we  are  bound  to  propagate  it. 

The  same  kinds  of  error  Avhich  at  first  Avere  against  the 
Christian  religion,  found  their  AA'ay  into  it  afterAvards,  in  cor- 
responding corruptions  of  it. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  former  times,  and /or  those  times. 
Monasteries  Avere  commendable  institutions.  But  those  Avho 
say  this,  Avhen  contrasting  the  learning,  peace,  and  piety  of 
the  Monasteries  Avith  the  ignorance  and  irreligion  and  per- 
petual wars  of  "the  Middle  Ages,"  forget  that  it  was  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  291 

very  system  of  ■wliicli  these  were  a  part,  Avliich  made  tlie 
world  so  dark  and  unijiiiet;  and  then,  like  the  ivy,  which  has 
reduced  a  fine  building  to  a  shattered  ruin,  they  held 
together  the  fragments  of  that  ruin. 

Nothing  is  really  harmless  that  is  mistaken  for  a  virtue. 
In  all  pursuits,  but  most  of  all  in  the  great  one  of  religion, 
to  think  that  Ave  are  advancing  when  wc  are  not,  is  a  positive 
evil. 

Too  religious,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  we  cannot 
be.  We  cannot  have  the  religious  sentiments  and  principles 
too  strong,  or  too  deeply  fixed,  if  only  they  have  a  right 
object.  We  cannot  love  God  too  warmly  —  or  lionour  Him 
too  highly  —  or  strive  to  serve  Him  too  earnestly  —  or  trust 
Him  too  implicitly ;  because  our  duty  is  "  to  love  Him  with 
all  our  heart,  and  all  our  soul,  and  all  our  mind,  and  all  our 
strength."  But  too  religious,  in  another  sense,  we  may,  and 
are  very  apt  to  be — that  is,  we  are  very  apt  to  make  for  our- 
selves too  many  objects  of  religious  feeling. 

The  diiference  between  religious  knowledge,  properly  so 
called,  and  what  may  be  more  properly  styled  theological 
philosophy,  may  be  thus  illustrated.  —  Tlie  printed  tables  in 
our  almanacks,  shovving  the  times  of  the  sun's  rising  and 
setting  at  each  period  of  the  year  —  the  appearances  of  the 
moon — the  times  of  eclipses — the  variations  of  the  tides  in 
different  places,  and  the  like,  supply  to  plain  unlearned  men 
that  needful  information  upon  many  points  of  daily  practical 
use  Avhich  they  can  understand ;  whereas,  the  explanations 
which  modern  discoveries  in  natural  philosophy  have  estab- 
lished of  most  of  tliose  points,  would  be  wholly  unintelligible 
to  them. — It  is  not  the  less  possible,  nor  the  less  useful,  for 


292  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

any  one  to  know  tlic  times  -when  the  sun  gives  light  to  this 
earth,  even  though  he  should  not  know  whether  it  is  the  sun 
that  moves,  or  the  earth. 

Now,  it  is  just  such  practical  knowledge  as  this  that  the 
Scriptures  give  us  of  the  Christian  Dispensation.  —  They 
afford  practical  directions,  but  no  theory.  But  there  is  this 
important  difference  between  the  two  cases  —  the  human 
faculties  could,  and  at  length  did  (though  it  is  beyond  the 
great  mass  of  mankind)  discover  the  true  theory  of  the  ap- 
pearances and  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  In  matters 
pertaining  to  divine  revelation,  on  the  contrary,  though  there 
must  actually  be  a  true  theory  (since  there  must  be  reasons, 
and  those  known  to  God  Himself,  even  if  hidden  from  every 
creature,  why  He  proceeded  in  this  way,  rather  than  in  that), 
this  theory  never  can  be  known  to  us ;  because  the  whole 
subject  is  so  far  above  the  human  powers,  that  we  must  have 
remained,  but  for  revelation,  in  the  darkest  ignorance  con- 
cerning it.  Many  curious  and  valuable  truths  has  the  world 
discovered  by  philosophy  (or,  as  our  translators  express  it, 
"wisdom");  but  "the  world"  (says  Paul,)  "by  wisdom 
know  not  G-od :"  of  which  assertion,  the  writings  of  the 
ancient  heathen  philosophers  now  extant,  afford  sufficient 
proof. 

When  the  Sacred  Writers  speak  Avith  commendation  of 
"knowing  God,"  they  always  mean  such  a  knowledge  as  is 
attended  with  the  practical  effects  of  fearing,  loving  and 
obeying  Him.  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom  ;  and 
to  depart  from  evil,  that  is  understanding"  (Job.  xxviii.  28). 
"  lie  judged  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  needy,  then  it  was 
well  with  him:  was  not  this  to  know  Me?  saith  the  Lord" 
(Jer.  xxii.  IG).  "  He  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 
God  :  he  that  loveth  not  hath  not  known-  God"  (1  John  iv.  7). 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  293 

The  Gospel  substitutes  for  precise  rules  sublime  principles  ; 
thus  leaving  the  Christian  to  be  "  a  law  unto  himself." 

All  lawgivers  forbid  us  to  steal  our  neighbour's  goods  ;  but 
it  is  onlj  the  Divine  Law-Giver  who  looks,  not  merely  on 
the  outward  appearance,  but  looks  upon  the  heart,  that  can 
effectually  forbid  us  to  covet  them. 

All  Gaming,  since  it  implies  a  desire  to  profit  at  the 
expense  of  another,  involves  a  breach  of  the  tenth  Command- 
ment. 

The  King,  who  proposed  a  reward  to  the  man  who  should 
invent  a  new  pleasure,  would  have  deserved  well  of  the  world, 
if  he  had  stipulated  that  it  should  be  innocent. 

Much  of  the  declamation,  by  which  popular  assemblies  are 
often  misled,  against  what  is  called,  without  any  distinct 
meaning,  the  "doctrine  of  expediency,"  (as  if  the  "right" 
and  the  "expedient"  were  in  opposition)  might  be  silenced 
by  asking  the  simple  question,  "  Do  you  then  admit  that  the 
course  you  recommend  is  mexpedient  ?" 

To  avoid  the  two  opposite  evils,  —  the  liability  to  sudden 
and  violent  changes,  and  the  adherence  to  established  usage, 
when  inconvenient  or  mischievous,  —  to  give  the  requisite 
stability  to  governments  and  other  institutions  without 
shutting  the  door  against  improvement,  this  is  a  problem 
which  both  ancient  and  modern  legislators  have  not  well 
succeeded  in  solving.  Some,  like  the  ancient  Medes  and 
Persians,  and  like  Lycurgus,  have  attempted  to  prohibit  all 
change ;  but  those  who  constantly  appeal  to  the  wisdom  of 
their  ancestors,  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  perpetuating  every- 
25* 


2;'4  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

thin;:  tliesc  liave  cstablishctl,  forget  two  things;  first,  that 
thfv  cannot  hope  for  ever  to  persuade  all  successive  genera- 
tions of  men,  that  there  was  once  one  generation  of  such 
infallible  wisdom  as  to  be  entitled  to  dictate  to  all  their  de- 
scendants for  ever,  so  as  to  make  the  earth,  in  fact,  the 
possession,  not  of  the  living  but  of  the  dead ;  and,  secondly, 
that,  even  supposing  our  ancestors  gifted  with  such  infalli- 
bility, many  cases  must  arise  in  which  it  may  be  reasonably 
doubted  whether  they  themselves  would  not  have  advocated, 
if  living,  changes  called  for  by  altered  circumstances  ;  even 
as  our  own  forefathers,  who  denoted  the  southern  quarter 
from  mcridics  (noon),  would  not  have  been  so  foolish  as  to 
retain  that  language  had  they  come  to  live  in  this  hemisphere, 
whore  the  sun  at  noon  is  in  the  north. 

Nature  does  not  give  the  same  degree  of  strength  to  the 
footstalks  of  the  leaves  of  a  tree, — destined  as  these  are,  to 
be  shed  every  year,  —  and  to  the  roots,  which  are  designed 
to  hold  the  trunk  fast  in  the  ground  —  If  she  did,  either  the 
one  would  be  far  too  strong,  or  the  other  far  too  weak,  or 
both  of  these  inconveniences  might  take  place  at  once ;  yet 
this  is  the  error  committed  by  almost  all  governments.  The 
same  machinery  is  provided  to  facilitate  or  to  impede  every 
change  alike,  in  great  or  in  small  matters;  the  same  mode 
is  prescribed  for  the  maintaining,  or  abrogating,  or  intro- 
ducing of  every  law  and  every  institution  alike.  In  Great 
Britain,  for  instance,  an  Act  for  regulating  the  manufacture 
of  soap,  or  an  Act  which  should  introduce  a  complete  change 
into  the  Constitution — which  should  take  away  or  restore  the 
liberties  of  half  the  nation,  —  must  go  through  exactly  the 
same  forms,  and  be  passed  or  rejected  by  the  same  authorities 
under  the  same  regulations :  in  short,  in  this  resj)ect,  the 
CJovernnicnt  is  like  a  tree  whose  leaf-stalks  and  main  rools, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPJITIIEGMS.  2'J5 

have  neither  more  nor  less  toughness  and  stoutness  the  one 
than  the  other. 

A  political  prediction  publicly  uttered  will  often  have  had, 
or  be  supposed  to  have  bad,  a  great  share  in  bringing  about 
its  OAvn  fulfilment.  He  who  gives  out,  for  instance,  that  the 
people  will  certainly  be  dissatisfied  with  such  and  such  a  law, 
is,  in  this,  doing  his  utmost  to  make  them  dissatisfied.  And 
this  being  the  case  in  all  unfavourable,  as  well  as  favourable, 
predictions,  some  men  lose  their  deserved  credit  for  political 
sagacity,  through  their  fear  of  contributing  to  produce  the 
evils  they  apprehend ;  while  others,  again,  contribute  to  evil 
results  by  their  incapacity  to  keep  their  anticipations  locked 
up  in  their  own  bosoms,  and  by  their  dread  of  not  obtaining 
deserved  credit.  It  would  be  desirable  to  provide  for  such 
men  a  relief  like  that  which  the  servant  of  King  Midas 
found,  due  care,  however,  being  taken  that  there  should  be 
no  whispering  reeds  to  divulge  it. 

To  love  both  Power  and  Liberty  is  not  very  consistent. 

In  forming  a  judgment  of  any  one's  character,  the  first 
thing  to  be  looked  at,  is  to  see  whether  he  have  any  percep- 
tible, ruling  passion  ;  for  it  is  evident  that,  though  the  whole 
of  a  man's  character  does  not  depend  upon  it,  since  it  may 
be  variously  modified  by  other  passions,  and  by  principle, 
yet  it  must  ever  be  an  important  feature.  A  man  might 
give  a  very  full  detail  of  the  business  and  transactions  of 
each  separate  department  of  our  government,  and  yet  convey 
but  a  faint  idea  of  our  Constitution,  compared  with  one  who 
should  in  a  few  lines  point  out  the  j^upiov  of  it,  and  the  checks 
upon  that.  So  also,  it  is  not  enough  to  be  able  to  enumerate 
a  man's    good    and  bad  (jualities,  without  adverting  to  liis 


296  MISCELLANEOUS    APOniTIIEGMS. 

ruling  passion.  It  is  a  point  of  some  nicety,  since  "we  are 
not  to  be  led  altogether  by  a  man's  conduct :  for  the  same 
conduct  is  not  only  consistent  with,  but  may  spring  from, 
different  passions ;  nor  by  his  professions,  nor  what  his 
reason  assents  to ;  yet  each  of  these,  though  it  may  not  be 
precisely  conformable  to  his  ruling  passion,  will  generally 
be,  in  some  measure,  tinged  by  it.  Perhaps,  one  of  the  best 
criterions  (when  a  man  can,  as  in  the  case  of  himself,  obtain 
knowledge  of  it)  is  his  castles-in-the  air.  A  reverie  is,  on 
the  one  hand,  not  regulated  by  the  corrections  of  sober 
reason,  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  usually  influenced 
by  the  sudden  interruption  of  those  casual  j^assions,  which, 
in  practice,  so  often  interrupt  a  man's  general  plan  of  life ; 
it  is  in  a  reverie,  therefore,  that  the  ruling  passion  bears  the 
most  complete  sway.  Some  men's  day-dreams  terminate  (for 
that  is  the  main  point)  in  glory ;  some,  in  power ;  some  in 
beneficence ;  some  stop  short  at  wealth ;  some  in  comfort, 
and  tranquil  retirement.  This  last  case  seems  to  bear 
reference  to  a  sort  of  negative  ruling  passion,  which  is  by 
no  means  uncommon.  It  is  generally  easier,  and  better,  to 
direct  and  modify  the  ruling  passion,  than  to  extirpate  it; 
and  there  is  scarce  any  that  may  not  be  engaged  on  the 
side  of  virtue:  Laudis  amore  times?  What  is  the  praise 
of  men  compared  with  the  praise  of  God  ?  Is  a  man 
eager  for  knowledge  ?  Heaven  must  be  set  before  Jam,  as 
the  place  where  we  shall  "see  face  to  face"  and  "know  even 
as  we  arc  known"  —  Is  he  ambitious  ?  Such  an  one  may  be 
made  to  be  eager  to  rise  to  a  more  exalted  state  of  existence 
—  Is  his  ruling  passion  iihilanihrojiy  ?  Heaven  presents 
itself  as  a  place  wlierc  multitudes  will  be  happy  around  him  ; 
and,  especially,  where  the  distressing  and  perplexing  appear- 
ance of  evil  will  be  explained,  and  the  i>ivinc  Benevolence 
clearly  made  manifest. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  207 

Abstain  from  the  amusements,  "which  are  the  most  congenial 
to  your  peculiar,  innate  disposition,  or  your  peculiar,  profes- 
sional pursuits.  A  man  should  never  do  that  in  jest,  which 
he  may  be  suspected  of  doing  in  earnest. 

There  is  not  so  much  pleasure  in  gaining^  as  in  the  act  of 
gaining,  —  If  all  our  wishes  were  gratified,  most  of  our 
pleasures  would  be  destroyed. 

No  flattery  —  to  use  the  word  in  the  sense  of  undue  praise 
merely — has  such  influence  as  the  daily  droppings  of  domestic 
flattery.  Laudari  a  laudato  viro,  is  what  every  one  would 
prize  most ;  but  other  praises  may  make  up  in  tale  what  they 
want  in  weight. 

Attachment  to  Relations,  is  the  earliest  and  the  latest. 

It  is  a  fact,  and  a  very  curious  one,  that  many  people  find 
they  can  best  attend  to  any  serious  matter,  when  they  are 
occupied  with  something  else,  that  requires  a  little,  and  but 
a  little,  attention  ;  such  as,  working  with  the  needle  (which, 
by  the  bye,  gives  the  woman  a  great  advantage  over  men), 
cutting  open  paper  leaves,  or  for  want  of  some  such  employ- 
ment fiddling  any  how  with  the  fingers  (which  most  are  prone 
to  when  earnestly  engaged).  Now,  as  the  best  philosophers 
are  agreed,  that  the  mind  cannot  actually  attend  to  more 
than  one  thing  at  a  time,  but  when  it  so  appears,  is,  in 
reality,  shifting  with  prodigious  rapidity,  backwards  and 
forwards  from  one  to  the  other,  it  seems  strange,  that  atten- 
tion to  one  train  of  ideas  should  be  aided  by  this  continual, 
though  unperceived,  distraction  to  another.  The  truth  is,  I 
conceive,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  keep  the  mind  closely 
fixed  to  any  one  train  of  thought,  except  for  a  very  short 


298  MISCKLLANEOUS    APOl'IITlIEaMS. 

time  ;  and  that,  -wlicn  we  suppose  this  to  be  the  case,  there 
are,  in  reality,  continual  little  difiressions ;  -which  ireiiuently 
do  not  (often  do)  leave  a  trace  on  the  memory ;  Avhich  are 
excited,  either  by  some  casual  association  with  one  of  tlie 
ideas  of  the  train,  or  by  bodily  sensations,  and  from  whicli, 
the  attention  is  continually  returning  to  its  former  course. 
If  any  one  first  attends  to  any  subject,  as  he  thinks,  exclu- 
sively, and  afterwards  beginning  to  cut  open  paper-leaves, 
finds  that  he  attends  no  worse  than  before,  it  seems  (juite 
evident  that  he  did  not  before  attend  more  exclusively  than 
after;  and  conseipiently  that  he  had  then,  though  he  knew 
it  not,  his  attention  as  much  drawn  oft'  by  extraneous  objects. 
Taking  it  then  for  granted,-  that  we  seldom,  or  never,  can 
prevent  entirely  those  occasional  wanderings  of  attention, 
and  never  can  wholly  confine  our  thoughts  to  the  main 
object,  the  best  way,  therefore,  must  be  to  present  to  them 
some  subordinate  object,  which  shall  be  just  interesting 
enough  to  Avithhold  our  attention  from  those  ol)jects,  which 
our  roving  senses  arc  perpetually  apt  to  present  to  us,  and 
yet  not  enough  to  draw  off  much  of  our  attention  (such  as 
needlework,  to  one  who  is  familiar  with  it,  but  not  to  a  child 
who  is  just  learning  it):  and  this  subordinate  object  will,  not 
only,  draw  off  our  attention  from  the  surrounding  objects  of 
sense,  but  will  aso  check  those  wandering  thoughts  wliich 
are  suggested  by  the  principal  train  of  ideas ;  for  being 
associated  with  this  principal  train,  it  will  form  a  sort  of  topical 
memory,  and  will  thus  perpetually  recall  us  to  what  we  are 
about.  Hence  tlie  great  advantage  of  some  such  employ- 
ment as  needlework,  turning,  kc.  Ilcnce,  too,  though  it  is 
reckoned  uncivil,  wlien  another  is  reading  or  speaking  to 
you,  to  look  out  of  the  window,  or  j)lay  with  a  dog,  as 
implying  inattention,  yet  we  should  be  aware,  that  it  does 
not    necessarily   imply   any   such   thing.     Ilcnce,    too,  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  299 

chief  advantage  of  meditating  on  paper ;  the  act  of  writing 
withholds  the  attention ;  and  the  words  written  are  more 
even  than  the  above  topical  kind  of  memory,  for  they  present 
to  you  the  past  part  of  the  trains,  first,  in  regular  order ; 
secondly,  connected  with  them,  not  by  an  extemporaneous 
association,  as  above,  but  by  an  established  and  habitual 
one. 

In  Affliction,  Labour  and  Duty  have  been  found  to  have  a 
soothing  effect,  when  an  attempt  at  seeking  amusement 
would  excite  loathing. 

If  you  wish  to  show  how  well  you  ivould  undergo  trials 
from  which  you  are  exempt,  show  it  by  your  way  of  sustain- 
ing those  to  which  you  are  subjected. 

Gay  Spirits  are  always  spoken  of  as  a  sign  of  happiness, 
though  every  one  knows  to  the  contrary.  A  cockchafer  is 
never  so  lively,  as  when  a  pin  is  stuck  through  his  tail ;  and 
a  hot  floor  makes  Bruin  dance. 

Happiness  is  no  laugldng  matter. 

Disgust,  contempt,  and  laughter  are  nearly  akin ;  he  who 
enjoys  nothing  and  values  nothing,  will  laugh  at  everything. 

Of  all  secondary  motives,  there  are,  certainly,  none  that 
have  more  influence,  on  faith,  and  feeling,  and  practice,  than 
the  example  and  sympathy  of  others.  AVhere  indeed  is  the 
man,  who  can  presume  to  say,  that  his  faith  would  be  equally 
firm,  if  no  one  held  it  beside  himself?  or  that  his  feelings 
and  his  conduct  would  be  the  same,  if  he  fuund  that,  in  both, 
he  stood  perfectly  single  ? 


300  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

To  take  the  same  steps  with  another,  in  -widely  different 
circumstances,  is  to  depart  from,  not  to  follow,  his  example. 

It  may  be  said,  almost  without  qualification,  that  Wisdom 
•consists  in  the  ready  and  accurate  perception  of  analogies. 
"Without  the  former  quality,  knowledge  of  the  past  is  unin- 
structive ;  without  the  latter,  it  is  deceptive. 

There  is  a  kind  of  man,  that  may  be  called  the  mirror  of 
a  wise  man  ;  which  gives  a  perfect  representation,  only  left- 
handed.  He  knows  that  a  wise  man  is  neither  too  hasty  nor 
too  slow — too  trustful  nor  too  distrustful  —  keeps  the  mean 
between  timidity  and  rashness,  &c. ;  and  so  he  resolves  to 
have  just  enough,  and  not  too  much,  of  each  quality  ; — only 
he  takes  the  Avrong  occasions  for  each ;  cautious,  Avhere  he 
ought  to  be  bold,  and  daring,  where  he  ought  to  be  cautious ; 
distrusting  those  worthy  of  confidence,  and  trusting  those 
who  are  not ;  dilatory,  Avliere  promptitude  is  called  for,  and 
hasty,  where  he  should  take  time ;  obstinate,  where  conces- 
sion would  be  right,  and  yielding,  where  firmness  is  needed  ; 
in  short,  acting  like  Hans  with  Grcttcl,  who  stuck  a  knife  in 
his  sleeve,  because  that  was  the  proper  place  for  the  needle ; 
and  put  a  kid  in  his  pocket,  because  that  was  the  place  for 
a  knife,  &c.  Such  is  the  left-handed  representation  of  a 
wise  man. 

A  man  who,  in  conjunction  with  other  qualities,  is  re- 
marked for  a  simple  and  natural  way  of  speaking  and  acting, 
and  whose  opinions  and  conduct  are  marked  by  independence 
and  originality,  will,  perhaps,  be  admired  and  imitated  by 
others,  who  forget  that  an  imitation  of  one  who  is*  wo  imita- 
tor, must,  in  one  most  important  point,  be  quite  unlike ;  and 
that  one  who  docs  not  think  for  himself,  must  differ  greatly 
from  one  who  does. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  301 

People  in  general  judge  of  every  separate  action  as  good 
or  bad,  and  seem  to  have  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  character. 
Virtuous  or  vicious  are  terms  not  strictly  applicable  to  any 
action^  but  to  the  agent,  and  his  disposition  and  design,  of 
which  the  acts  are  only  the  indicative.  Thus,  if  a  man  be 
found  guilty  of  a  cool  and  deliberate  falsehood,  or  of  a  "de- 
signed .  malicious  misrepresentation,  and  equivocation  (which 
is  a  lie  guarded),  his  good  actions  might,  in  other  respects, 
be  heneficial ;  but  they  no  more  deserve  the  name  of  virtuous, 
than  the  services  of  rooks  in  ridding  the  field  of  grubs,  or  of 
vultures  in  draining  away  carrion. 

A  lobster  (and  the  same  may  be  seen  in  a  prawn)  always 
faces  you,  as  if  ready  to  maintain  his  post,  and  do  battle ; 
but  when  you  approach,  he  gives  a  flap  Avith  his  tail,  and  flies 
back  two  or  three  feet ;  and  so  on,  again  and  again ;  always 
showing  his  assailants  a  bold  front,  and  always  retreating. — 
I  have  met  with  many  such  men. 

There  are  snakes  as  venomous  as  the  rattle-snake,  only 
they  have  no  warning  rattle. 

There  are  some  rare  instances,  and  as  curious  as  rare,  of 
men  who,  from  their  youth  up,  have  lost  so  little,  and  gained 
so  little,  that  at  any  age,  they  are  neither  less  nor  more  than 
clever  boys,  with  all  the  mental  and  bodily  elasticity  of  a 
lively  youth,  and  with  all  the  mental  immaturity  and  un- 
steadiness of  thought  likewise.  Their's  is  a  perpetual 
spring-time,  which  keeps  everything  fresh  and  green,  and 
ripens  nothing. 

"A  knave  is  one  knave,  but  a  fool  is  many."     A  weak 
man,  in  a  place  of  authority,  will  often  do  more  mischief 
26 


302  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

than  a  bad  man.  For  an  intelligent,  but  dislionest  man,  Tvill 
do  only  as  much  hurt  as  serves  his  own  purpose  ;  but  a  -weak 
man  is  likely  to  be  made  the  tool  of  several  dishonest  men. 
A  lion  only  kills  as  many  as  will  supply  him  with  food ;  but 
a  horse,  if  ridden  by  several  -warlike  horsemen,  may  prove 
the  death  of  more  than  ten  lions  would  kill. 

To  attempt  to  convince  some  men  by  even  the  strongest 
reasons  and  most  cogent  arguments,  would  be  like  King  Lear 
putting  a  letter  before  a  man  without  eyes,  and  saying,  "  Mark 
but  the  penning  of  it ;"  to  which  he  answers,  "  Were  all  the 
letters  suns,  I  could  not  see  one." 

Some  persons  have  an  excessive  dread  of  being  misled  by 
the  eloquence  of  another.  A  man  has  been  known  to  shun 
the  acquaintance  of  another,  of  whom  he  knew  no  harm, 
solely  from  his  dread  of  him  as  a  man  who,  he  imagined, 
"could  prove  anything."  Men  of  a  Ioav  tone  of  morality, 
judging  from  themselves,  take  for  granted,  that  whoever 
"  has  a  giant's  strength  will  not  scruple  to  use  it  like  a 
giant." 

It  seems  to  be  commonly  taken  for  granted,  that  whenever 
the  feelings  are  excited  they  are,  of  course,  over-excited. 
Now,  so  far  is  this  from  being  true  —  so  far  is  it  from  being 
the  fact  —  that  men  are  universally,  or  even  generally,  in 
danger  of  being  misled  in  conduct  by  an  excess  of  feeling, 
that  the  reverse  is,  at  least,  as  often  the  case.  The  more 
generous  feeling,  such  as  Compassion,  Gratitude,  Devotion, 
nay,  even  rational  and  riglitly-directed  Self-Love,  Hope,  and 
Fear,  are  oftener  defective  than  excessive:  and  tliat,  even  in 
the  estimation  of  the  parties  themselves,  if  they  are  well- 
principled,  judicious,  and  candid,  men.     Do  the  feelings  of 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  303 

Buch  a  man,  when  contemplating,  for  instance,  the  doctrines 
and  the  promises  of  the  Christian  Religion,  usually  come  up 
to  the  standard  which  he  himself  thinks  reasonable  ?  And 
not  only  in  the  case  of  Religion,  but  in  many  others  also,  a 
man  will  often  wonder  at,  and  be  rather  ashamed  of,  the 
coldness  and  languor  of  his  own  feelings,  compared  with 
what  the  occasion  calls  for :  and  even  mate  efforts  to  rouse 
in  himself  such  emotions  as  he  is  conscious  his  reason  would 
approve.  But  the  feelings,  propensities,  and  sentiments  of 
our  nature,  are  not,  like  the  Intellectual  Faculties,  under  the 
direct  control  of  Volition.  The  distinction  is  much  the 
same  as  between  the  voluntary,  and  the  involuntary,  actions 
of  different  parts  of  the  body.  One  may,  by  a  delibei'ate 
act  of  the  Will,  set  himself  to  calculate, —  to  reason, —  to 
recall  historical  facts,  &c.,  just  as  he  does  to  move  any  of  his 
limbs  :  on  the  other  hand,  a  Volition  to  hope  or  fear,  to  love 
or  hate,  to  feel  devotion  or  pity,  and  the  like,  is  as  ineffectual 
as  to  will  that  the  pulsations  of  the  heart,  or  the  secre- 
tions of  the  liver,  should  be  altered.  Good  sense  suggests,  in 
each  case,  an  analogous  remedy.  It  is  in  vain  to  form  a 
"Will  to  quicken  or  lower  the  circulation  ;  but  we  may,  by  a 
voluntary  act,  swallow  a  medicine  which  will  have  that  effect; 
and  so  also,  though  we  cannot,  by  a  direct  act  of  volition, 
excite  or  allay  any  Sentiment  or  Emotion,  we  may,  by  a 
voluntary  act,  fill  the  understanding  with  such  thoughts  as 
shall  operate  on  the  Feelings.  Such  being  the  state  of  the 
case,  why  is  it  that  the  idea  of  unfair  artifice  should  be  so 
commonly  associated,  not  only  with  Rhetoric  in  general,  but 
most  especially  with  that  part  of  it  known  as  the  address  to 
the  Feelings  or  Active  Principles  of  our  nature,  and  usually 
stigmatized  as  "An  Appeal  to  tlie  Passions  instead  of  the 
Reason?" — though  no  other  artifice  is  necessarily  employed 
by  the  Orator  than  a  man  of  sense  makes  use  of  towards 


304  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.     " 

himself.  Many  different  circumstances  combine  to  produce 
this  effect.  In  the  first  place,  the  intellectual  powers  being, 
as  has  been  said,  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  Will, 
which  the  Feelings,  Sentiments,  &c.,  are  not,  an  address  to 
the  Understanding  is  consequently  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  direct  ;  to  the  Feelings,  indirect.  The  conclusion  you 
■wish  to  draw,  you  may  state  plainly,  as  such ;  and  avow  your 
intention  of  producing  reasons  which  shall  effect  a  conviction 
of  that  conclusion  :  you  may  even  entreat  the  hearer's  steady 
attention  to  the  point  to  be  proved,  and  to  the  process  of 
argument  by  which  it  is  to  be  established.  But  this,  for  the 
reasons  above  mentioned,  is  widely  diflerent  from  the  process 
by  which  we  operate  on  the  Feelings.  No  passion,  sentiment, 
or  emotion,  is  excited  by  thinking  about  it,  and  attention  to 
it ;  but  by  thinking  about,  and  attending  to,  such  objects  as 
are  calculated  to  awaken  it.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  more 
oblique  and  indirect  process,  which  takes  place  when  we  are 
addressing  ourselves  to  this  part  of  the  human  mind,  is 
apt  to  suggest  the  idea  of  trick  and  artifice ;  although  it  is, 
as  I  have  said,  just  such  as  a  wise  man  practises  towards 
himself. 

When,  however,  it  is  said,  that  a  good  and  wise  man  often 
has  to  act  the  part  of  an  orator  towards  himself,  in  respect 
of  that  very  point  —  the  excitement  of  the  Feelings  —  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  is  danger  of  a  man's  being 
misled  by  his  own  ingenuity  —  of  exercising  on  himself, 
when  under  the  influence  of  some  passion,  a  most  pernicious 
oratorical  power,  by  pleading  the  cause,  as  it  were,  before 
himself,  of  that  passion.  And  the  man  of  superior  ingenidty 
and  elo(iuence,  will  do  this  more  skilfully  than  an  ordinary 
man,  and  will  thence  be  likely  to  be  the  more  effectually 
self-deceived  :  sjpr  though  he  may  be  superior  to  the  other 
In  judgment,  as  well  as  in  ingenuity,  it  is  to  be  remembered 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  305 

that,  while  his  judgment  is  likely  to  be,  in  his  own  cause, 
biassed  and  partially  blinded,  his  ingenuity  is  called  forth  to 
the  utmost ;  and  though  it  requires  greater  skill  to  mislead 
him  than  an  ordinary  man,  he  himself  possesses  that  superior 
skill.  It  is  no  feeble  blow  that  will  destroy  a  giant ;  but  if 
a  giant  resolve  to  kill  himself,  it  is  a  giant  that  deals  the 
blow. 

The  like  takes  place  if  it  be  anger,  selfish  cupidity,  unjust 
partiality  in  favour  of  a  relative  or  friend,  party-spirit,  or 
any  other  passion,  that  may  be  operating.  For,  universally, 
men  are  but  too  apt  to  take  more  pains  in  justifying  their 
propensities  than  it  would  cost  to  control  them ;  and  a  man 
of  superior  powers  will  often  be,  in  this  way,  entrapped  by 
his  own  ingenuity,  like  a  spider  entangled  in  the  web  she  has 
herself  spun.  There  is  no  one  whom  he  is  likely  so  much, 
and  so  hurtfully,  to  mislead  as  himself,  if  he  be  not  sedu- 
lously on  his  guard  against  this  self-deceit. 

If  a  man,  who  feels  himself  capable  of  generous  and  ex- 
alted conduct  (I  do  not  mean,  feels  that  he  shall  always  act 
thus,  —  for  who  dares  promise  himself  this  ?  —  but  who  feels 
that  it  is  not  beyond  his  conception,  or  unnatural  to  him), 
measures  others  by  his  own  standard,  he  must  be  first  disap- 
pointed, and  then  dissatisfied,  with  almost  all  the  world  ;  and 
if  he  then  comes  to  measure  himself  by  their  standard,  and 
to  be  content  with  coming  up  to  it,  it  is  evident  he  will  act 
below  what  he  is  capable  of,  and  what  is  consequently  ex- 
pected of  him;  for  every  man  shall  be  judged  "according 
to  that  he  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not." 
His  only  way,  then,  is  to  fancy  himself  the  only  generous 
being  in  the  world.  I  say  to  fancy,  because  there  is  no 
reason  he  should  not  believe  in  the  abstract,  that  there  arc 
others  ;  but  ho  should  never  expect  it,  in  any  one  instance, 
20- 


306  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

till  it  lias  been  most  copiously  and  clearly  proved  by  ex- 
perience. It  may  be  objected  that  this  vrill  make  him  think 
over-highly  of  himself,  and  "despise  others."  I  deny  both — 
for  he  is  not  to  think  his  conduct  better  than  others,  only 
his  capabilities ;  and  thus,  feeling  that  more  is  required  of 
him,  as  being  placed  in  a  higher  walk  of  duty,  he  will  even 
be  the  less  satisfied  with  his  conformity  to  so  lofty  a  standard. 
But,  though  his  frequent  failures  will  humble  him,  yet,  as  a 
fair  and  due  sense  of  dignity,  which  arises  from  a  conscious- 
ness of  superior  station,  is  not  only  right,  but  needful,  in  a 
gentleman,  a  peer  or  a  king,  to  make  them  fill  their  stations 
gracefully ;  so  it  is  here :  that  proper  sense  of  his  own  moral 
dignity,  is  necessary  for  a  great  and  generous  disposition,  if 
he  would  act  up  to  his  character.  The  excess  thereof  will 
be  checked  by  habits  of  true  piety,  which  cannot  but  make 
him  feel  his  own  littleness,  in  the  strongest  manner ;  and  by 
continually  asking  himself  "  Who  made  thee  to  differ  from 
another  ?"  or,  "  "What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  ?" 
he  Avill  be  guarded  against  despising  his  inferiors.  For 
generous  and  ungenerous  pride  are,  not  only  diff'erent  (as  all 
would  allow),  but,  in  most  points,  opposite ;  a  man  of  the 
former  character  makes  allowances  for  others,  which  he  will 
not  make  for  himself ;  the  latter,  allowances  for  himself, 
which  he  will  not  for  others :  he  is  ready  enougli  to  think 
that  this,  and  that,  is  not  good  enough  for  him  ;  but  the  other 
thinks  a  base  action  not  good  enough  for  him,  and  does  not 
regard  his  superiority  as  a  privilege  to  act  in  a  manner  which, 
in  his  view,  would  degrade  him  from  it ;  and  while  doing  the 
most  generous  actions  himself,  as  things  of  course,  he  will 
make  the  readiest  allowance  for  others'  deficiencies,  lie  will 
do  good  without  calculating  upon  much  gratitude  ;  yet  will 
be  grateful,  with  most  generous  ardour,  himself.  To  take 
any  unfair  advantages,  or  even  to  take  all  fair  ones — to  press 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  307 

his  rights  to  the  utmost — to  press  close  to  the  limits  of  "what 
is  Avrong,  and  anxiously  consider  -whether  he  may  be  allowed 
to  do  this,  or  omit  that, — he  disdains  and  would  feel  degraded 

by  it. 

Some  men  are  so  excessively  acute  at  detecting  imperfec- 
tions, that  they  scarcely  notice  excellencies.  In  looking  at 
a  peacock's  train,  they  would  fix  on  every  spot  where  the 
feathers  were  worn,  or  the  colours  faded,  and  see  nothing 
else. 

Men,  in  general,  are  apt  to  consider  him  as  the  wisest  who 
professes  to  explain  the  most ;  and  him  as  the  most  ignorant 
who  is  the  most  ready  to  confess  his  ignorance. 

Those  who  are  ambitious  of  originality,  and  aim  at  it,  are 
necessarily  led  hy  otliers,  since  they  seek  to  be  different  from 
them. 

There  is  many  a  rashly -cautious  man.  A  moth  rushes  into 
a  flame,  and  a  horse  obstinately  stands  still  in  a  stable  on 
fire ;  and  both  are  burnt.  Some  men  are  prone  to  moth- 
rashness,  and  some  to  horse-rashness,  and  some  to  both. 

The  generality  of  readers  give  a  man  credit  for  as  much, 
and  only  as  much,  superiority  as  he  assumes ;  and  conclude 
anything  to  be  contemptible  which  they  see  treated  with 
great  contempt ;  unless  indeed  that  the  writer  assures  his 
readers  over  and  over  again,  and  with  strong  observations, 
that  a  work  is  utterly  contemptible.  In  this  case  they  begin, 
at  least  sometimes,  to  suspect  that  it  is  not.  This  is  like  some 
of  the  over-done  bulletins  which  annihilate  a  corps  of  the 
enemy  to-day,  and  then  rout  them  again  to-morrow,  and  then 


308  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

again  announce  a  third  victory  over  them  next  day,  till  at 
last  people  hegin  to  doubt  whether  they  have  gained  any 
victory  at  all. 

One  sometimes  meets  with  an  "  ill-used  man  ;"  a  man  with 
whom  everything  goes  wrong ;  who  is  always  thinking  how 
happy  he  should  be  to  exchange  his  present  wretched  situa- 
tion for  such  and  such  another  ;  and  when  he  has  obtained 
it,  finding  that  he  is  far  worse  off  than  before,  and  seeking  a 
remove ;  and  as  soon  as  he  has  obtained  that,  discovering 
that  his  last  situation  was  just  the  thing  for  him,  and  was 
beginning  to  open  to  him  a  prospect  of  unbroken  happiness, 
far  beyond  his  present  state,  &c.  To  him  a  verse  of  Shaks- 
peare  well  applies : — 

"  0  thoughts  of  men  accurst ! 


Past,  and  to  come,  seem  best,  things  present  worst." 

One  is  reminded  of  a  man  travelling  in  the  African  desert 
surrounded  by  mirage,  with  a  (seeming)  lake  behind  him, 
and  a  lake  before  him,  which,  when  he  has  reached,  he  finds 
to  be  still  the  same  barren  and  scorching  sand.  A  friend 
aptly  remarked  "  that  man's  happiness  has  no  present  tense." 

If  a  thing  is  right  to  be  done,  it  must  be  right  that  some- 
body should  do  it.  Is  there  any  reason  why  I  should  not 
be  that  somebody  ? 

There  may  be  great  faults  in  reference  to  small  things. 

The  peculiarities  of  women  dawn  at  so  very  early  an  age, 
and  are  so  much  less  variable  than  tlieir  education,  that  I 
cannot  believe  them  to  be  entirely,  or  even  chielly,  artificial. 
Even  their  education  itself,  is,  in  a  great  degree,  to  be  traced 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  309 

up  to  nature ;  for,  if  Eve  had  the  education  of  her  own 
daughters,  they  wouhl,  of  course,  learn  to  think,  feel,  and 
act  as  she  had  been  taught  by  nature,  and  so  on. 

It  may  be  affirmed  as  a  general  rule,  that  women  have 
much  less  totality  than  men. 

Woman  is  like  the  reed,  which  bends  to  every  breeze,  but 
breaks  not  in  the  tempest. 

Shakspeare  has,  I  think,  in  great  measure  reversed  the 
male  and  female  characters  in  Macbeth  and  his  Avife.  lie  is 
readily  open  to  the  impressions  of  fear,  pity,  remorse,  &c., 
and  yet  bears  up  against  them  to  the  last.  She  is  unmoved, 
and  when  she  does  at  length  feel,  she  dies  of  it. 

Mushroom-celebrity  is  the  result  of  puzzle-headedness.  A 
man  hardly  can  rise  to  veri/  sudden  popularity  without  being 
(along  Avith  some  cleverness),  somewhat  puzzle-headed.  For 
the  way  to  rise  to  rapid  celebrity  is  to  be  a  plausible  advocate 
of  prevailing  doctrines  ;  and  especially  to  defend,  with  some 
eloquence  and  novelty,  something  which  men  like  to  believe, 
but  have  no  good  reason  for  believing.  And  this  a  skilful 
dissembler  will  never  do  so  well  as  one  v/ho  is  himself  the 
dupe  of  his  own  fallacies,  and  brings  them  forward,  there- 
fore, with  an  air  of  simple  earnestness  which  implies  his 
being,  with  whatever  ingenuity  and  eloquence,  puzzle-headed. 
A  very  clear-headed  man  must  always  perceive  some  of  the 
truths  which  are  generally  overlooked,  and  must  have 
detected  some  of  the  popular  fallacies ;  in  short,  he  must  be 
somewhat  in  advance  of  the  oi  ■^roXXoi  of  his  contemporaries : 
and  if  he  has  the  courage  to  speak  his  mind  fairly,  he  must 
wait  till   the  next   generation,  at  least,  for  his  popularity. 


810  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

The  fame  of  clever,  but  puzzlo-lieadcd,  advocates  of  vulfjar 
errors  will  be  like  a  mushroom  Avliich  springs  up  in  a  night 
and  rots  in  a  day ;  ■while  that  of  the  clear-headed  lover  of 
truth  will  be  a  tree  '■'■  seris  factura  nepotibns  timbram.''  Kc 
must  take  his  chance  for  the  result.  If  he  is  wrong  in  the 
doctrines  he  maintains,  or  the  measures  he  proposes,  at  least 
it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  immediate  popular  favour.  If  he  is 
right,  it  will  be  found  out  in  time,  though  perhaps  not  in  his 
time.  The  })reparc'rs  of  the  Mummies  were  (Herodotus  says) 
driven  out  of  the  hoiise,  by  the  family  who  had  engaged  their 
services,  with  execrations  and  stones  ;  but  their  ivo7'k  remains 
sound  after  three  thousand  years. 

If  human  nature  were  not,  always  and  everywhere,  in  the 
most  important  points,  substantially  the  same,  history  could 
furnish  no  instruction  ;  if  men's  manners  and  conduct,  cir- 
cumstantially and  externally,  were  not  infinitely  varied  in 
various  times  and  regions,  hardly  any  one  could  lail  to  profit 
by  that  instruction.  As  it  is,  much  diligence  is  called  for  in 
recognizing,  as  it  were,  the  same  plant  in  different  stages  of 
its  growth,  and  in  all  the  varieties  resulting  from  climate 
and  culture,  soil  and  season. 

The  use  of  estimating  rightly  the  temptations  of  others,  is 
in  order  the  better  to  understand  our  own.  If  we  look  only 
to  the  mote  in  our  brother's  eye,  no  improvement  in  know- 
ledge can  answer  any  purpose  but  to  increase  our  condemna- 
tion. 

"When  the  sun's  rays  arc  let  into  a  room,  clouds  of  dust 
will  be  seen  floating  in  the  air  which  before  were  unseen,  and 
various  stains  and  spots  will  appear,  which  were  before  un- 
noticed.    !So  it  is  with  the  spiritual  and  moral  light  of  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  311 

Gospel,  by  whicli,  as  the  conscience  becomes  more  tender, 
more  vigilant,  and  better  regulated,  we  shall  be  given  in- 
creased insight  into  our  own  defects 

The  distinct  uses  of  Scripture,  in  all  that  relates  to 
morals,  and  of  natural  conscience,  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
comparison  of  a  sun-dial  and  a  clock.  The  clock  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  always  at  hand  to  be  consulted  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  or  night.  But  then  the  clock  is  liable  to  go 
wrong,  and  vary  from  the  true  time.  And  it  has  no  power 
in  itself  of  correcting  its  own  errors,  so  that  these  may  go 
on  increasing  to  any  extent,  unless  it  be  from  time  to  time 
regulated  by  the  dial,  which  is  alone  the  unerring  guide. 
Thus  our  consciences  are  liable  to  deceive  us  even  to  the 
greatest  extent,  or  to  give  wrong  judgment,  if  they  are  not 
continually  corrected  and  regulated  by  a  reference  to  the 
"Word  of  God,  which  alone  —  like  his  Sun  in  the  natural 
"world — affords  an  infallible  guide.  But  while  professing  to 
take  Sci-ipture  as  sucb  a  guide,  we  should  beware,  when  we 
consult  it,  of  acting  like  a  man  Avho  should  pretend  to  regu- 
late his  clocks  and  watches  by  the  sun-dial,  and  should  go  to 
it  in  the  night-time  with  a  candle  which  would  throw  the 
shadow  whichever  way  he  Avould. 

All  virtuous  actions  are  actions  of  the  mind.  From  over- 
looking the  truth,  so  obvious  when  stated,  that  outward 
actions  are  only  so  far  morally  good  or  evil  as  they  are  a 
sign  of  what  is  within.  Casuists,  in  particular,  have  often 
fallen  into  hurtful  errors  by  distinguishing  venial  from  mortal 
sins,  according  to  the  amount,  for  instance,  of  money  stolen 
or  the  like,  rather  than  according  to  the  disposition  of  the 
agent.  Indeed  so  irregularly  and  promiscuously  introduced, 
in  general,  are  the  philosophical  and  popular  senses  of  the 


312  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPnTIIEOMS. 

words  ^'  moral  and  immoral,  vicious  and  virtuous,"  that  while 
every  one  would  allow  modesty,  gentleness,  liberality,  &c., 
to  be  "moral  virtues;"  yet  a  man  would  not  usually  be  said 
to  lead  an  immoral  life,  who  was  clear  of  all  offences  against 
the  laws,  and  also  chaste  and  temperate ;  though  he  might 
indulge  the  worldly,  and  the  more  truly  diabolical  propensi- 
ties, such  as  covetousness,  vanity,  falsehood,  arrogance, 
envy,  malice  and  cruelty. 

The  very  definition  of  a  moral  duty  hnplies  its  universal 
obligation,  independent  of  all  enactment.  A  positive  pre- 
cept concerns  a  thing  that  is  right  because  commanded  ;  a 
moral  precept  respects  a  thing  commanded  because  it  is 
right.  A  Jew,  for  instance,  was  bound  both  to  honour  his 
parents,  and  also  to  worship  at  Jerusalem,  but  the  former 
was  commanded  because  it  was  right;  and  the  latter  was 
right  because  it  was  commanded. 

Some  persons  seem  to  submit  to  the  laws  of  tlicir  country 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  do  to  the  changes  of  the  seasons, 
and  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  merely  because  they 
cannot  help  it ;  and  not  as  any  part  of  religious  and  moral 
duty ;  notwithstanding  the  commands  so  forcibly  laid  down 
in  Scripture  to  "  be  subject  to  the  powers  that  be,  as 
ordained  of  God ;  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience' 
sake." 

The  king  is  entitled  to  more  obedience  than  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  but  is  not  more  entitled  to  obedience.  P'or  we  are  to 
"  submit  ourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's 
sake."  If  you  owe  five  pence  to  one  man,  and  five  pounds  to 
another,  you  are  cqualli/  bound  to  pay  both  debts,  though 
the  debts  themselves  are  not  e<iual. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ArOPIITUEGMS.  313 

Right  and  Obligation  must  be  reciprocal ;  "whatever  the 
lawful  magistrate  has  a  rigid  to  enjoin,  the  subject  must  be 
hound  to  obey. 

It  is  remarkable  that  two  opposite  extremes  with  respect 
to  Law,  are  sometimes  found  in  the  same  person :  the  one  is 
the  extreme  of  not  regarding  obedience  to  it  as  a  duty,  of 
not  regarding  anything  as  riglit  because  commanded,  or 
wrong  because  forbidden ;  and  the  other  is  the  extreme  of 
regarding  it  as  the  whole  duty,  of  looking  only  to  what  is 
commanded  and  forbidden  by  L-nv,  from  a  persuasion  that  in 
any  proceeding  allowed  by  law  thei*e  can  be  nothing  morally 
•wrong.  At  one  time,  if  it  suits  his  convenience  to  infringe 
positive  regulations,  he  will  plead  the  law  of  nature,  and 
urge,  for  instance,  that  wild  animals  are  the  natural  property 
of  any  one  who  can  seize  them ;  or  that  all  men  have  a 
natural  right  to  import  whatever  goods  they  please,  without 
making  any  payment,  except  to  the  seller ;  and  that  though 
the  law  has  limited  these  rights,  and  guarded  the  limitation 
by  penalties,  yet  if  he  chooses  to  risk  the  penalty,  he  is 
doing  nothing  morally  wrong  :  forgetting  that  whatever  pro- 
perty he  possesses  is  his  by  the  law  of  the  land  and  by  noth- 
ing else :  and  yet  at  another  time,  perhaps  the  same  man, 
when  pressing  his  legal  rights  to  the  most  unfair  extreme, 
will  justify  his  hard  dealing  by  urging  that  he  does  nothing 
contrary  to  law. 

Of  all  abuses  of  law,  the  greatest  and  most  pernicious, 
because  to  it  all  the  rest  may  generally  be  referred,  is 
the  setting  up  of  the  laws  as  a  system  of  morality,  and 
making  them  the  guide  of  our  conscience,  which  a  law  never 
can  be.  And  for  these  reasons :  1st,  it  omits  whatever  is  not 
an  object  of  compulsion,  and  whatever  cannot  be  clearly 
defined ;  2nd,  its  punishments  are  not  proportioned  to  the 
27 


314  MISCELLA^;E0US    APOPlITllIiiiMS. 

moral  guilt  of  ofi'enccs ;  ord,  it  looks  only  to  the  outwavil 
action,  not  to  the  heart.  This  error  is  the  more  dangerous, 
because  there  is  so  much  of  trutli  incorporated  with  it.  It 
is  certainly  true,  that  we  ought  to  do  what  the  law  enjoins ; 
and  hence  the  mistake  of  supposing  tliat  this  is  sutlicient, 
though  we  do  nothing  more.  It  is  true,  that  we  ought  not  to 
do  what  the  laws  forbid;  tlie  error  is  in  reckoning  everything 
right  that  is  not  forbidden  by  them,  and  everything  that  is, 
as  wrong  in  exact  proportion,  to  the  punishment  they  denounce 
against  it. 

Men  are  apt  to  think,  that  because  the  vwde  and  occasion 
of  undefined  duties,  such  as  contribution  to  charitable 
objects,  are  left  to  their  discretion,  it  is  therefore  left  to 
their  choice  to  practise  them  or  not.  They  seem  to  think, 
that  he  who  is  responsible  only  to  (jod,  has  no  responsibility 
at  all. 

Christian  motive  makes  (so  to  speak)  duties  of  the  most 
ordinary  actions  of  life,  as  done  "  unto  the  Lord  and  not 
nnto  man;"  even  of  those  which,  done  on  worldly  motives  by 
worldly  men,  would  have  nothing  virtuous  in  them.  ''Whether 
he  cats  or  drinks,  or  whatsoever  he  does,  he  does  all  to  the 
glory  of  God." 

A  life  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  Christian  life  that  does  not 
spring  from  Christian  faith  and  Christian  principle,  any  more 
than  brute  animals  can  be  called  religious,  though  conlurming 
to  the  design  of  their  Maker,  and  acting  suitably  to  the 
nature  with  which  He  has  endowed  them.  Ko  one  Avould 
connnend  a  machine  for  industry  because  it  is  in  perpetual 
motion ;  or  a  torrent  for  courage  because  it  rushes  impetuously 
nlonrr. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  315 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  faith  shouhl  he  sound  and  the 
conduct  right  also,  unless  that  conduct  ho  made  to  arise  out 
of  that  faith.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  inward  works  of  a 
clock  are  well-constructed,  and  also  the  dial-plate  and  hands  ; 
the  one  must  act  on  the  other ;  the  works  must  regulate  the 
movements  of  the  hands. 

The  Christian  serves  the  only  Master  who  takes  the  effort 
alone  for  the  deed. 

A  son  who  loves  his  father  so  well  as  to  he  ready  to  die 
for  him,  is  as  truly  loving  a  child  as  he  who  actually  dies 
for  his  parent ;  and  he  that  is  ready  to  forsake  all  for  Christ, 
is  as  dear  to  Christ,  as  if  he  had  actually  forsaken  all  for 
Him. 

So  far  from  any  good  works  heing  intrinsically  meritorious^ 
there  are  none  that  can  he  even  intrinsically  virtuous.  To 
he  acceptable  in  God's  sight,  they  must  he  "  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,"  the  fruits  of  the  branches  which  grow  on  "the  True 
Vine,"  without  whom  we  can  do  nothing.  The  branch  cannot 
boast  itself  independent  of  the  vine,  even  Christ,  on  whose 
body  we  are  engrafted  through  faith,  and  by  whom  we  are 
enabled  to  bring  forth  fruit. 

The  absurdity  involved  in  the  idea  of  being  religious  by 
proxy  —  of  having  good  works  done  for  us  —  would  be 
obvious,  if  men  would  remember  that  our  divine  Master  can 
have  no  need  of  the  services  of  his  creatures.  "  Can  a  man," 
asks  Job,  "  be  profitable  unto  God,  as  a  man  that  is  wise 
may  be  profitable  unto  himself?  .  .  .  .  or  is  it  gain  to  him 
that  thou  makest  thy  ways  perfect."  The  good  works,  there- 
fore, which  he  requires  of  us  must  be  entirely  for  our  own 


316  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

benefit,  and  not  for  His,  and  designed  as  a  training  and 
exercise  in  order  to  our  moral  improvement.  This  distinction 
between  works  required  for  their  ow7i  value  to  the  recjuirer, 
and  those  wliich  are  required  for  tlie  exercise  of  a  learner,  is 
very  obvious  :  for  instance,  if  I  offer  a  map  for  sale,  it  is 
nothing  to  any  one  whether  I  draw  it  myself,  or  get  another 
to  do  it  for  me,  provided  the  map  is  a  good  one ;  but  if  a 
schoolmaster  sets  a  boy  to  draw  a  map,  he  would  punish  him 
for  getting  another  boy  to  do  it  for  him  ;  because  he  values 
the  map  merely  for  tlie  pupil's  proficiency,  as  he  could  draw 
a  better  map  himself,  or  buy  it  at  a  shop.  Now  as  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  latter  case  answers  to  ours  in 
reference  to  our  Divine  Master,  it  must  be  a  mere  groundless 
fancy  to  think  that  another  person  can  perform  our  duty  for 
us,  or  that  his  good  works,  real  or  supposed,  can  be  imputed 
to  us,  and  considered  as  done  by  ourselves. 

Though  a  man  may  go  beyond  what  is  required  of  some 
otlier  men,  no  one  can  go  beyond  his  own  duty.  It  is  plain, 
therefore,  that  no  human  virtue  can  have  merit  in  God's 
sight,  or  any  natural  claim  to  reward. 

Some  persons  have  fallen  into  perplexity  and  mistake  on 
the  subject  of  the  rewards  promised  in  Scripture,  and  the 
merit  which  some  suppose  good  works  to  possess  in  God's 
sight.  An  illustration  from  the  case  of  a  school  will  serve 
to  explain  it.  Suppose,  for  instance,  some  rich  and  liberal 
man  should  found  a  school  for  the  children  of  his  poor 
neighbours  ;  and  suppose  that  besides  building  a  school-house, 
and  providing  teachers  and  school-books,  he  should  also 
provide  prizes  for  such  of  the  scholars  as  should  behave  well, 
and  make  good  proficiency  in  their  learning.  Every  one 
would  understand  that  the  children  and  their  parents  ought 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  317 

to  be  very  grateful  to  such  a  patron  for  his  kind  bounty. 
And  the  chihlrcn  wouhl  easily  be  made  to  understand  that 
they  ought  to  show  their  thankfuhicss  by  taking  pains  to 
profit  by  the  advantages  afforded  them.  And  when  it  Avas 
said  that  these  prizes  were  to  be  the  reward  of  good  beha- 
viour, no  one  wouhl  be  so  stupid  as  to  tliink  that  those  who 
gained  them  couhl  claim  them  as  something  earned  by  them- 
selves, as  a  matter  of  right,  and  for  which  tliey  owed  no 
thanks  to  any  one.  All  would  understand  that  the  proposing 
of  the  prizes  was  from  the  free  bounty  of  the  kind  patron ; 
and  that  the  proficiency  in  learning  of  the  children  thus 
rewarded  was  no  benefit  to  Am,  but  only  to  them ;  and  that 
it  was  entirely  for  their  sakes  that  they  were  encouraged  to 
take  pains  in  learning.  But  they  would  fully  calculate  on 
receiving  the  promised  rewards  in  case  of  good  conduct ; 
though  not  as  what  they  had  originally  any  claim  to,  but 
because  it  had  been  promised.  For  though  the  offer  of  the 
prize  came  from  the  patron's  free  bounty,  the  fulfilment  of 
a  promise  once  made  is  a  matter  of  justice. 

And  accordingly  we  read  that  God  is  not  unrighteous 
(unjust)  to  forget  our  work  or  labour  of  love,  not  that  He 
was  originally  bound  in  justice  to  reward  any  good  works  of 
ours,  or  that  they  can  be  a  benefit  to  Him,  but  because  He 
has  graciously  promised  to  be  a  "rewarder  of  them  that  dili- 
gently seek  Him."  The  offer  of  a  reward  to  any  of  his 
creatures  is  a  free  gift  of  his  bounty,  but  we  may  trust  to  his 
justice  to  make  good  what  He  has  said. 

If  you  could  imagine  the  patron  of  a  school  such  as  we  have 
been  describing,  to  have  supplied  to  the  children  not  only  a 
school-room,  and  teachers,  and  books,  but  also  the  eyes  with 
which  they  read  the  books,  and  the  ears  with  which  they  hear 
what  is  said  to  them,  and  the  brain  by  which  they  understand 
it,  then  the  case  would  answer  more  closely  to  that  of  our- 
27  * 


318  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

selves  in  reference  to  our  Maker,  ''  in  wliom  ^ve  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being."  For  He  has  supplied  to  us  all 
our  powers  of  mind  and  body,  and  lie  requires  us,  as  He 
certainly  has  a  full  right  to  do,  to  employ  them  in  devoting 
ourselves  to  His  service.  And  He  has  held  out  to  us  tho 
promise  of  the  prize  of  our  high  calling,  the  "crown  of  glory 
which  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  shall  give  at  that  day 
unto  all  that  love  his  appearing." 

To  this  Ave  could  have  no  natural  claim ;  and  though  we 
may  fully  rely  on  His  justice  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  pro- 
mises, all  that  we  can  receive  from  Him  is  not  the  less  a  free 
and  bountiful  gift,  since  the  promises  themselves  proceed 
from  His  bounty  alone. 

Some  Christians  admire  giving  up  something,  under  the 
notion  of  its  being  for  Christ,  when  they  are  not  called 
upon  to  give  it  up ;  which  is  just  as  if  a  son  were,  without 
any  reason  in  the  world,  to  stab  himself  in  order  to  show  hia 
aflfection  for  his  father. — This  is  a  theatric  kind  of  perfection, 
of  which  the  Apostles  knew  nothing. 

Sufferings  are  only  really  admirable  when  God's  providence 
calls  us  to  undergo  them  in  the  path  of  duty.  But  men  arc 
apt  to  forget  this,  and  to  confound  together  the  thought  of 
merit  and  of  pain,  because  they  see  the  two  things  often 
joined  together ;  and  when  for  no  good  reason  at  all,  they 
inflict  suflering  on  themselves,  they  think  they  are  imitating 
Paul,  forgetting  that  it  was  forced  upon  him.  "When  our 
Lord  says,  "Let  him  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me,"  He 
draws  His  metaphor  from  the  Roman  custom  of  condemning 
criminals  to  carry  their  own  cross,  and  would  teach  His 
disciples  to  endure  patiently  whatever  sufferings  may  be  laid 
on  tlicin  in  their  Christian  course.     The  precept  is  not,  it 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPIITnEGMS.  319 

should  be  observed,  "Let  him  bear  a  cross"  or  "the  cross," 
but  his  cross,  i.  e.,  that  which  is  allotted  to  him.  So  also  in 
the  parable  of  a  man  going  to  build,  and  of  a  king  about  to 
make  war,  and  who  do  not  fViil,  if  they  are  prudent.,  to  count 
the  cost  beforehand,  we  may  observe  that  the  eost  to  be  com- 
puted is  the  unavoidable  expense  of  the  undertaking.  They 
do  not  regard  the  expenditure  as  a  thing  desirable  in  itself, 
and  to  be  sought  on  its  own  account,  or  incurred  unnecessa- 
rily ;  but  they  consider  how  much  it  is  requisite  to  sacrifice 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  object. 

And  the  very  strength  of  some  of  our  Lord's  expressions, 
the  hyperbolical  and  paradoxical  form  which  they  often 
assume,  serves,  and  was  doubtless  designed  to  serve,  the 
purpose  (in  this,  as  in  many  other  cases)  of  guarding  us 
against  mistaking  his  meaning.  If  He  had  bid  us  merely 
"hate"  riches,  and  ease,  and  comfort,  He  might  have  been 
understood  to  mean  that  Christians  would  be  the  more 
acceptable  to  Him  for  renouncing  private  property  and 
exposing  their  bodies  to  the  sufferings  of  cold  and  hunger, 
and  scourging  themselves  with  knotted  cords  according  to 
the  '  discipline'  (as  it  is  called)  of  some  fanatic,  or,  like  the 
Hindoos  of  this  day,  plunging  into  their  flesh  iron  hooks,  by 
which  they  are  suspended  and  violently  swung  round.  But 
when  He  says  that  a  man  must  "  hate  his  father  and  mother," 
and  all  those  to  whom  duty  as  well  as  aflFection  most  bind 
him,  "yea,  and  his  own  life  also,"  we  plainly  see,  since  He 
evidently  could  not  have  been  enjoining  both  unnatural 
cruelty  and  suicide,  that  He  must  have  been  inculcating  the 
duty  of  being  ready  to  sacrifice  our  strongest  attachments, 
when  called  on  to  do  so  in  his  cause,  when  regard  for  friends, 
or  love  of  life,  shall  stand  in  the  way  of  our  devotedness  to 
Him, — when,  as  it  would  often  happen  in  the  times  of  perse- 
cution, a  man  was  obliged  to  make  choice  between  the  two, 


320  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

and  renounce  cither  the  Gospel  or  tlie  most  valued  good  of 
this  life  and  life  itself. 

And  fully  did  the  Apostles  act  up  to  the  spirit  of  their 
Lord's  instructions,  ready  to  "pluck  out  the  eye,"  or  "cut 
off  the  hand,"  if  it  "oficnd,"  but  not  otherwise  ;  ready  each 
to  bear  his  cross  —  his  ozf'n  cross  —  the  burden  of  affliction 
which  Providence  might  see  fit  should  be  laid  on  him :  but 
no  other.  ^Ve  find  them,  in  their  Christian  warfare,  acting 
the  part  of  good  and  faithful  soldiers ;  whose  duty  is  to 
endure  cheerfully  hardship  and  toil,  to  brave  wounds  and 
death,  when  summoned  to  do  so  in  the  course  of  service, — 
to  shrink  from  nothing  that  they  are  commanded  to  do  or  to 
bear ;  but  never  to  expose  themselves  wantonly  to  danger 
when  not  commanded,  nor  to  inflict  on  themselves,  merely 
in  ostentation  of  their  fortitude,  any  sufierings  or  privations 
that  have  no  other  object. 

The  word  "mortify,"  in  our  ordinary  language,  is  com- 
monly applied  to  any  kind  of  suffering,  simply  as  sufferinrj  ; 
in  which  sense,  cither  scanty  or  unpleasant  food,  or  lying  on 
a  bed  of  stones,  scourging,  wearing  of  hair-cloth,  or  any 
gratutitous  endurance  of  pain,  would  be  called  mortification. 
But  the  word  mortify  originally  signifies — as  well  as  the  two 
Greek  words  of  which  it  is  a  translation — to  "  put  to  death." 
And  it  is  invariably  used  by  the  Sacred  "Writers  (doubtless 
in  allusion  to  the  death  of  Christ  for  his  people,  whom  He 
came  to  "save  from  their  sins")  in  the  sense  of  suppressing 
and  subduing  sinful  propensities,  and  bringing  the  body  into 
subjection  to  the  Spirit.  For  instance,  "  Mortify  your 
members  which  are  upon  the  earth,"  "If  ye  through  the 
•Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live."  And 
in  the  same  sense,  "  Tlioy  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified 
the  flesh  with  its  aireclion.s  and  lusts." 


MISCELLANEOUS   ArOPIITHEGMS.  321 

That  the  "fastings"  of  which  Paul  speaks  in  the  Second 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (xi.  27)  is  an  involuntary  act,  and 
not  any  kind  of  religious  exercise,  is  plain  from  the  context ; 
as  he  is  manifestly  enumerating,  not  his  devotional  practices, 
but  his  hardships  and  trials.  His  "fastings"  are  mentioned 
not  along  with  prayers  and  meditations,  but  with  "  perils," 
and  "  stripes,"  and  "  stoning."  And  it  is  observable  also, 
that  the  "  watcliings"  which  he  likewise  mentions  in  the  same 
place,  have  no  reference  to  any  sort  of  voluntary  exercise. 
In  our  version,  indeed,  the  word  corresponds  with  that  in  our 
Lord's  exhortation  to  "watch  and  pray;"  but  in  the  original, 
quite  different  words  are  employed.  In  the  exhortation,  to 
watch  (ypr/j/opsrv)  is  to  be  vigilant  like  a  sentinel ;  in  Paul's 
descriptions  of  his  sufferings;  "watching"  (ap7U':rv';a)  means 
"privation  of  sleep,"  "want  of  repose."  And  the  same 
words  are  employed  in  the  same  manner,  when  he  speaks  in 
another  place  of  being  "  in  distresses,  in  stripes,  in  imprison- 
ments, in  tumults,  in  labours,  in  watcliings^  in  fastings.' 

It  is  evident  that  self-discipline,  the  bringing  the  body 
into  subjection  to  the  spirit,  was  not  regarded  by  our  Lord 
as  the  legitimate  purpose  of  "fasting,"  (a  notion  which  did 
not  arise  till  several  ages  after ;)  for  in  that  point  of  view  the 
disciples  would  have  needed  it  while  their  Lord  was  with 
them  as  well  as  afterwards ;  and  thus,  his  reply  to  the 
reproachful  enquiry  why  his  disciples  did  not  practise  fasting, 
—  "Can  the  children  of  the  bride-chamber  fast  while  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them  ?" — would  have  been  nothing  to  the 
purpose.  The  next  clause,  "-When  the  bridegroom  is  taken 
away,  then  shall  they  fast,"  contains  no  precept  as  to  what 
his  disciples  were  enjoined  to  do ;  only  a  prophecy  of  what 
would  take  place  in  the  days  when  to  mourn  Avouhl  be, — not 
indeed   a   thing    commanded,  but  natural    and    suitable  for 


322  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

Christ's  disciples.  Those  Jays  were  tlie  interval  of  despond- 
ing sorroAY  between  his  crucifixion  and  resurrection,  and  not, 
as  some  have  thought,  the  life  of  hardship  and  privation  and 
suffering  which  awaited  them ;  for  these  were  a  kind  of  trial 
■which  he  prepared  them  not  to  mourn  for,  hut  to  endure  joy- 
fully, "  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  persecute  you  for 
righteousness  sake  ....  rejoice  in  that  day,  and  leap  for 
joy."  And  well  did  the  Apostles  learn  and  practise,  and 
inculcate  on  their  converts,  the  lesson  lie  had  taught  them. 
''My  brethren,  count  it  all  joij  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
temptations;"  that  is,  trials  by  persecution.  "  They  rejoiced 
that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  them  for  his  sake." 
"I  am  filled,"  says  Paul,  "with  comfort;  I  am  exceeding 
joyful  in  all  our  tribulation." 

That  class  of  superstitious  practices,  painful  sufferings, 
voluntarily  undergone, — such  as  fasting,  scourging,  watch- 
ing, filthy  dress,  or  nakedness,  —  springs,  partly  from  the 
tendency  to  confound  merit  with  pain,  and  that  which  is,  in 
some  cases,  a  mark  of  true  piety,  with  true  piety  itself;  and 
partly  from  such  sufferings  being  regarded  as  necessary  to 
atone  for  sin.  Wc  are  naturally  averse  from  the  company 
of  God;  not  only  because  we  arc  unlike  llim,  but  because  we 
feel  that  we  have  offended  Ilini,  an<l  may  expect  punishment. 
Conscience  not  only  upbraids  us  for  what  we  do  amiss,  but  — 
to  use  the  words  of  Bishop  Butler, — ''  if  not  forcibly  stopped 
naturally,  and  always,  of  course,  goes  on  to  anticipate  a 
higher  and  more  effectual  sentence,  which  shall  hereafter 
second  and  affirm  its  own."  Hence  we  find  that,  among  tho 
very  heathens,  there  was  in  wicked  men  often  a  keen  sense 
of  having  deserved  vengeance,  and  a  vague  solicitous  looking 
round,  as  it  were,  of  tlie  mind  in  every  direction,  expecting 
that,  from  some  point  or  other,  vengeance  would  assuredly 


MISCELLANEOUS     APOrilTIIEGMS.  323 

overtake  them ;  and  a  starting  at  every  unlucky  accident,  as 
if  it  were  "a  judgment  for  their  sins."  This  notion  of 
something  being  wanted  to  appease  the  wrath  of  heaven  for 
past  transgressions,  as  distinct  from  reformation  for  the  time 
to  come,  is  probably  one  great  source  of  the  immorality  of 
the  heathen  religions.  Men's  thoughts  were  turned  away 
from  reformation  for  the  future  to  atonement  for  the  past. 
The  anger  of  the  higher  powers,  already  incurred^  was  the 
foremost  thought,  and  the  means  of  averting  that  were  the 
great  object  of  anxiety.  Now  it  is  quite  true  (as  we  know 
from  revelation),  that,  though  the  good  and  merciful  God 
qannot  thirst  for  revenge  like  the  weakest  of  His  creatures, 
yet  there  was  something  more  required  than  mere  repentance 
on  our  part ;  not  indeed  to  make  us  objects  of  God's  mercy, 
for  that  we  were  when  He  gave  his  Son  to  die  for  us,  but  to 
make  it  wise  and  just  for  Him  to  treat  us  with  favour  as  his 
dear  children.  But  the  mischief  was,  that  men's  minds 
fixed  themselves  almost  wholly  on  that  something  more  ;  and, 
pursued  by  a  continual  dread  of  punishment,  they  sought, 
by  self-inflicted  penances  and  hardships,  or  costly  offerings 
and  sacrifices,  to  satisfy  the  divine  justice.  The  issue  was, 
that  religion  came  to  wear  the  shape  of  a  plan  for  tolerating 
vice  at  the  expense  of  paying  certain  fines,  and  suffering 
certain  penalties ;  and  this  will  be,  in  the  end,  the  shape  of 
any  religion  Avhich  regards  sin  as  something  still  to  be 
atoned  for  by  man  himself,  in  the  practice  of  rites  different 
from  ordinary  right  conduct.  Christianity  met  the  difficulty 
by  teaching  us  that  an  atonetnent  has  been  made ;  but  an 
atonement  in  making  which  we  have  no  share.  It  tells  us 
that  sin  (considered  as  an  obstacle  to  full  pardon  on  repent- 
ance), has  been  so  for  ever  p?(^  atvag,  as  that  nothing  remains 
for  us  to  do,  but  to  accept  the  offer  of  eternal  life  by  turning 
to  God ;  and  knowino;  now  that  our  "  labour  is  not  in  vain  in 


324  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTnEGMS. 

the  Lord,"  set  ourselves,  with  his  help,  to  that  practice  of 
virtue  Avhich  is,  and  must  be  at  all  times  our  duty,  and  with- 
out which  wc  "shall  never  see  God."  And  the  only  jy  am 
God  re([uires  us  to  undergo,  not  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  .but 
as  a  natural  consequence  of  it,  is,  the  pain  and  toil  which  a 
man  has  to  undergo  in  reforming  his  life,  a  pain  and  toil 
which  will  always  be  the  greater  the  more  sinful  his  life  has 
been,  and  the  longer  he  has  continued  in  sin.  Hence  it 
leads  us  to  regard  the  sufferings  of  this  mortal  life,  not  as 
vengeance  taken  on  our  sins,  but  as  fatherly  corrections,  and 
a  painful  discipline  necessary  for  our  improvement ;  in 
which  "  God  dealcth  with  us  as  with  children  ;  for  what  son 
is  he  whom  his  father  chasteneth  not?" 

Christian  self-denial  consists,  not  in  volunteering  self-tor- 
ture, but  in  "  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,"  and 
in  "  living"  (not  at  this  or  that  particular  season,  but  always) 
"soberly,  righteously  and  godly  in  this  present  life."  For 
he  who  is  a  Christian  at  all  must  be  one  constantly  ;  because 
•  he  is,  as  such,  a  living  stone  of  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  should  therefore  live  —  not  on  this  day  or  that, 
but  every  day — as  becomes  those  ayIio  arc  preparing  for  the 
coding  of  Him  "  who  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may 
be  made  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  mighty 
working  whereby  He  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto  him- 
self," and  who,  "having  this  hope,"  strive  to  "purity  them- 
selves, even  as  He  is  pure." 

But  though  this  is  plainly  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  his 
Apostles,  yet  it  is  well  known  how  much,  and  how  soon. 
Christians  of  later  ages  perverted  their  teaching,  and  de- 
parted from  tliL'ir  e\amj)le.  Early  introduced,  and  widely 
spread,  and  hard  to  be  eradicated,  and  easily  revived,  is  the 
notion  of  a  man's  becoming,  by  a  presumptuous  "  will-wor- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  325 

ship,"  by  performance  of  supposed  services  that  have  not 
been  enjoined  —  a  sort  of  saviour  to  himself;  or  of  atoning, 
himself,  for  his  own,  and  even  for  his  neighbours'  sins.  And 
the  introduction  of  such  notions  and  practices  into  the  Gos- 
pel, contrary  to  its  original  and  proper  character,  shows, 
more  plainly  even  than  the  instances  of  the  Pagan  religions, 
how  suitable  to  the  "  natural  man"  is  this  kind  of  will-wor- 
ship. It  appears  ;)verywhere — in  corrupted  Christianity,  and 
in  all  the  forms  of  heathenism  in  ancient  and  in  modern 
times.  The  notion,  evidently,  is  not  derived  either  from 
Christianity  as  such,  or  from  Mahomctanism,  or  from  Pagan- 
ism, or  from  any  particular  form  of  Paganism ;  but  from 
some  tendency  in  human  nature  itself. 

Since  the  two,  seemingly  most  opposite,  tendencies,  a 
desire  for  temporal  victory,  glory,  wealth,  and  enjoyment ; 
and  the  other  much  more  strange  tendency,  a  craving  for 
self-torture,  are  natural  to  man ;  since  the  two  apparently 
most  opposite  desires  —  that  for  worldly  success,  complete 
self-indulgence,  and  freedom  from  moral  restraint ;  and  that 
for  ascetic  mortification,  are  found  to  exist  in  human  nature  ; 
one  might  expect  that  any  one  teaching  a  religion  either 
invented  or  modified  by  man,  would  have  been  likely  to 
accommodate  himself  to  these  dispositions  of  the  human 
mind.  A  superstitious  enthusiast  or  a  designing  impostor, 
would  have  led  his  zealous  followers  to  expect  temporal 
success  as  a  mark  of  divine  favour  (as  was  done  by  Mahomet, 
who  was  probably  a  mixture  of  the  two  characters) ;  and 
allowed  to  them  a  relaxation  of  moral  obligation  ;  or  he  would 
have  recommended  self-inflicted  sufferings  as  a  laudable 
service  of  God,  or  most  likely  combined  both ;  promising 
them,  along  with  the  consolations  of  piety,  the  free  gratifica- 
tion of  their  natural  desires;  by  permitting  them  to  com- 
28 


326  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEaMS. 

pensate,  b;j.  austerities  at  particular  seasons,  for  habitual 
sclf-indu]p:encc  at  other  times.  Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  docs 
neither.  He  hibourcd  to  repress  all  expectations  of  worldly 
prosperity,  and  held  forth  tlic  prospect  of  persecutions  and 
hardships.  He  allows  of  no  exemption  from  moral  duty,  no 
shrinking  from  dangers  and  sufferings  to  be  encountered  in 
his  cause  ;  no  refusal  to  bear  the  cross  that  may  be  allotted 
to  each  ;  and  yet  never  enjoins  or  encourages  any  self-inflicted 
pain,  or  needless  exposure  to  danger.  Ilis  religion,  there- 
fore, as  taught  by  Himself,  differs  in  a  most  important  point 
from  any  that  ever  was  devised  by  men  ;  or  mixed,  and 
modified,  and  corrupted  with  human  inventions.  And  this 
is  one  of  the  proofs  open  to  any  man  of  plain  common  sense, 
which  may  furnish  an  answer  to  the  question,  "  Was  it  from 
heaven,  or  of  men  ?" 

The  danger  is  not  only  so  great,  but  likewise  so  palpable, 
of  giving  way  to  intemperance  or  to  luxurious  self-indulgence, 
that  many  are  apt  to  disbelieve  or  overlook  all  danger  on  the 
side  of  asceticism,  and  consider  that  as  being,  at  the  worst, 
no  more  than  a  harmless  error,  leading  to  no  evil  beyond  the 
unnecessai-y  bodily  suffering  undergone ;  as  something  super- 
fluous, but  no  wise  mischievous.  But,  in  truth,  whatever  is 
practised  and  admired  as  a  Christian  duty,  when  it  is  none, 
is  likely  to  be  worse  than  useless.  AVhile  the  practice  of  any 
truly  Christian  virtue  tends  to  cherish  every  other  Christian 
virtue,  purifying  and  elevating  the  moral  taste,  and  Chris- 
tiaTiizing  the  whole  character,  because  the  genuine  "fruits 
of  the  spirit"  all  come  from  the  same  root;  the  practice,  on 
the  contrary,  of  any  spurious  imitation  of  virtue,  is  more 
likely  to  be  substituted  for  general  Christian  morality  than 
to  prove  a  help  towards  it ;  and  thus  gradually  to  debase, 
instead  of  exalting,  the  character.    Every  superstition  tends, 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  327 

as  far  it  goes,  to  divert  religious  sentiments  into  a  wrong 
channel. 

True  Christian  sanctity  is  not  the  sanctity  which  shows 
itself  in  self-inflicted  mortification  or  outward  signs  of 
humility,  or  in  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  ceremonies.  It  is 
that  sanctity  which  consists  in  the  sober  and  consistent 
practice  of  Christian  morals — that  real  virtue  Avhich  is 
"comely,  honest,  and  of  good  report,"  always  and  every- 
where—  that  "moderation"  which  uses  this  world  without 
abusing  it,"  which  is  ready  to  sacrifice  all  when  duty  requires 
it ;  but  is  not  afraid  temperately  to  enjoy  what  God  gives 
richly, — that  sanctity  which  consists  in  walking  "  righteously, 
soberly,  and  godly  in  this  present  world,"  and  which,  borrow- 
ing no  help  from  enthusiasm,  or  pride,  or  vanity,  relies,  in 
the  meekness  of  a  rational  and  serious  faith,  on  the  unseen 
help  of  God's  grace.  Such  is  Christian  sanctity,  and  such 
a  sanctity  is  strong  and  convincing  evidence  of  the  divine 
origin  of  that  faith  from  which  it  springs. 

There  are  some  who  seem  to  think  that  in  moral  questions, 
as  well  as  in  doctrinal  questions,  their  judgment  is  infallibly 
right;  and  that  though,  in  practice,  they  are  liable  to  go 
wrong,  this  can  only  be  when  they  ofiend  against  the  dictates 
of  their  own  conscience.  This  is  to  claim  a  great  superiority 
over  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  to  reverse  his  procedure.  He 
did  not  set  up  his  own  conscience  as  an  infallible  standard 
of  right  and  wrong;  for  he  says,  "I  judge  not  mine  own 
self;  for  I  know  nothing  by  (against)  myself  (that  is,  I  am 
not  conscious  of  any  wrong);  "yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified  : 
but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord." 

The  meritorious  sacrifice  of  Christ  is  the  only  foundation 


328  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  ' 

of  the  Christian's  hope,  and  the  aid  of  His  Spirit,  the  only 
support  of  the  Christian's  virtue. 

What  is  it  of  whicli  the  devout  communicants  are  really 
partakers  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ?  Surely, 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  The  bread  and  wine,  not  only  are 
merely  a  sign,  but  they  are  a  sign  of  a  sign  ;  that  is,  they 
represent  our  Lord's  flesh  and  blood,  and  his  flesh  and  blood 
represent  the  benefits  procured  by  his  death.  To  eat  and 
drink  the  symbols,  represents  our  feasting  on  the  sacrifices 
—  our  being  made  sharers  of  those  benefits.  "  It  is  the 
Spirit  that  quickcneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing."  And 
as  it  is  the  soul  or  spirit  of  a  man  that  animates  (quickenetii) 
his  body,  which  would  otherwise  be  lifeless ;  so  Christians 
who  are  themselves  the  figurative  body  of  Christ  are  quick- 
ened—  receive  life  arid  vigour,  "strength  and  refreshment" 
— from  tlie  Spirit  of  Christ  Avhich  dwelleth  in  them ; — "  the 
last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  Spirit." 

We  must  '•'•  watch"  as  if  all  depended  on  our  OAvn  vigilance; 
we  must  "pray"  as  if  nothing  depended  on  it. 

The  natural,  hearty,  fervent  prayer  of  a  child  cannot  but 
be  childish  ;  so  that  to  teach  children  prayers  they  cannot 
understand,  while  neglecting  to  teach  them  other  prayers 
suitable  to  their  age,  is  to  supply  them  with  a  promise  of 
strong  meat,  which  they  may  hereafter  be  able  to  bear,  while 
withliolding  the  necessary  immediate  nourishment  of  milk. 

The  Apostle  sets  Love  above  Faith  and  Iio])e,  not  merely 
as  the  greatest  of  the  three,  but  as  including  the  other  two  ; 
because  it  "  hopeth  all  things  and  believctli  all  things." 


MISCELLANEOUS  APOPHTHEGMS.  329 

The  Christian  must  be  prepared  to  believe  all  that  his 
divine  Master  has  taught, — to  hope  all  that  He  has  promised, 
— and  to  endure  and  do  all  that  He  has  commanded. 

He  who  taught  us  by  precept  to  "  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness,"  has  taught  us,  in  His  own 
form  of  prayer,  before  we  ask  for  "  our  daily  bread,"  to  pray 
that  His  kingdom  may  come,"  and  His  "will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

The  true  Christian  is  most  emphatically  and  preeminently 
public-spirited.  "None  of  us,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul, 
"liveth  unto  himself."  And  he  who  is  the  most  sedulously 
occupied  in  working  out  on  Gospel  principles  his  own  salva- 
tion, will  always  be  found  the  most  devotedly  active  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  his  brethren. 

When  praying  that  God's  servant's  may  be  hurt  by  no 
persecutions,"  let  us  not  forget  to  pray  for  the  still  more 
important  blessing  of  being  preserved  from  hurting  others  by 
persecution.   - 

Most  heretics  are  made  so  by  the  orthodox. 

Heresies  are  indefinitely  multiplied  by  injudicious  contro- 
versy— like  the  prolific  heads  of  the  fabulous  hydra,  by  the 
unskilful  fittempt  to  destroy  the  first. 

Many  a  one  has  been  led,  by  an  unjust  and  injudicious 
charge  of  heresy,  to  suppose  that  to  be  a  distinct  mode  of 
faith  which,  in  fact,  is  rather  a  deficiency  of  faith,  and  has 
thus  been  partly  alarmed,  partly  provoked,  and  partly 
flattered  into  embodying,  maintaining  and  propagating,  as  a 
28* 


330  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTHEGMS. 

peculiar  system,  -svliat  is  merely  the  result  of  his  own  slight 
and  inaccurate  acquaintance  with  Scripture. 

Many  heresies  have  gone  out  of  themselves,  as  soon  as 
men  have  ceased  to  blow  them.  Great  is  the  noise  when 
every  one  is  crying  "  Silence  !" 

Some  men  arc  very  zealous  for  the  reformation  of  a  religion, 
while  indifferent  to  the  religion  itself  that  is  reformed. 

The  strongest  term  of  detestation  that  can  be  applied  to  a 
man  —  the  term  "  miscreant"  affords,  in  its  etymology  (mis- 
believer), a  curious  instance  of  the  fact,  that  our  hostility 
against  the  rejection  of  our  religion  by  infidelity  is  greater 
than  against  the  disgracing  of  it  by  immorality. 

The  irreligious,  or  profligate,  or  worldly-minded  professor 
of  religion  is  more  chargeable  with  impiety  than  the  unbe- 
liever, who  is,  at  any  rate,  not  living  in  the  habitual  defiance 
of  a  God  and  Saviour  whom  he  acknowledges.  If  two  men 
receive  each  a  letter  from  his  father,  and  one  of  them,  on 
very  insufiicient  grounds,  reject  it  as  a  forgery,  he  is  not 
surely  more  undutiful  than  the  other  who,  recognizing  it  as 
a  genuine  letter  from  his  father,  puts  it  away,  and  utterly 
disregards  all  the  injunctions  it  contains. 

There  is  no  presumption  in  the  idea  of  a  Chri^ian  in  the 
present  day  becoming  as  perfect  as  one  of  the  apostles ;  the 
presumption  lies  in  his  being  content  to  remain  inferior. 

In  every  Christian  duty,  improvement  is  a  good  sign  only 
when  it  is  a  promising  sign. 


MISCELLANEOUS  APOPnTHEGMS.  331 

If  no  more  is  required  of  a  Christian  than  to  do  his  utmost, 
so  no  less  is  required  of  him. 

He  who  is  not  the  better  for  his  religious  knowledge,  will 
8,ssuredly  be  the  ivorse  for  it. 

Confident  trust  in  unimproved  spiritual  privileges  will 
avail  to  secure  their  advantages  as  little  as  will  a  confidence 
in  the  possession  of  once  fertile  land,  ■whose  tillage  is  ne- 
glected, avail  to  make  it  a  source  of  wealth. 

As  a  frightfully  large  proportion  of  the  world  are,  unde- 
niably, practical  Antinomians,  living  as  if  they  did  not  expect 
to  be  hereafter  accountable  for  their  conduct,  the  fact  that 
so  very  few  of  them  are  found  to  adopt  the  Antinomian 
theory,  furnishes  the  most  powerful  testimony  against  the 
truth  of  that  hypothesis. 

The  fruits  of  the  Spirit  is  the  only  test  of  being  led  by 
the  Spirit. 

As  the  behaviour  of  a  family  will  be  influenced  by  the 
cbaracter  of  the  master  of  the  house,  so  the  religion  of  men 
will  be  influenced  by  the  character  which  they  suppose  to  bo 
that  of  the  Being  whom  they  worship.  Thus  "  he  that  hath 
hope  in  Jesus  purifieth  himself  even  as  He  is  pure." 

Many  a  one  trusts  to  the  mercy  of  God,  who  Jias  never 
thought  seriously  of  the  conditions  of  that  mercy. 

When  men  talk  of  preparing  for  death,  they  mean  pre- 
paring for  the  next  life. 


332  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

Those  who  have  doubted  of  the  life  to  come,  or  studied  to 
keep  the  consideration  out  of  sight,  ai*e  generally  found  to 
Ijelieve  it  the  most  firmly  at  the  awful  moment  -when  they 
•would  be  most  glad  to  disbelieve  it ;  and  then  to  think  most 
of  it,  -when  the  thought  is  most  intolerable. 

A  strong  sense  of  the  uncertainty  and  shortness  of  life, 
tends  to  make  a  man  cither  a  thorough-going  voluptuary,  or 
a  thorough-going  Christian. 

For  the  dying  man,  the  death-bed  is  the  best  time  for 
seeking  to  make  his  peace  Avith  God ;  simply  because  he  has 
no  other :  for  any  one  else,  it  is  the  very  worst. 

He  vrho  is  a  sincere  Christian  never  can  die  suddenly; 
and  he  who  lives  otherwise,  necessarily  must. 

It  is  very  difficult  for  those  advanced  in  life,  who  have 
hitherto  been  deaf  to  their  Saviour's  call,  not  merely  to 
receive  a  new  impression  for  the  moment,  but  to  make  a 
total  change  in  all  their  habits,  thoughts  and  feelings ;  but 
it  Avill  be  still  more  difficult  every  moment  they  delay  it ;  and 
in  that  change  is  their  only  liope.  Let  not  such  then 
"grieve  any  longer,  the  Holy  Spirit,"  who  alone  can  enable 
any  to  surmount  the  difficulty;  for  "with  God  all  things  aro 
possible."  Let  them  consider  their  Lord  as  addressing  to 
them  the  question,  "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?" 
They  cannot  indeed  answer,  "Because  no  man  hath  hired 
us;"  for  they  have  been  summoned  to  go  and  labour  in  the 
vineyard,  and  have  refused  :  but  they  can  answer  by  throw- 
ing themselves  immediately  on  his  mercy  and  with  deep 
repentance  for  their  past  nc^rlect  of  Him,  accepting',  though 
late,    the   gracious    offers  they  have    hitherto    disregarded; 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  333 

striving  the  more  earnestly  before  "the  door  is  shut,"  to 
gain  admittance  to  the  presence  of  Him  who  "will  "  abun- 
dantly pardon"  those  that  return  unto  Ilim. 

Though  it  may  never  be  too  late  to  repent,  it  is  always  too 
late  to  think  of  deferring  repentance. 

False  security  in  the  great  mass  of  mankind,  arises  not 
from  a  too  confident  expectation  of  the  glories  of  a  better 
world,  but  from  thinking  too  little  of  any  world  but  this ;  not 
from  their  insensibility  to  the  danger  of  falling  from  a  state 
of  grace,  but  to  that  of  never  striving  to  he  i7i  such  a  state. 

To  say  "we  are  not  expected  to  be  saints,"  is  to  forget 
that  the  Gospel  promises  are  limited  to  those  who  live  "  as 
becometh  saints." 

Instead  of  enquiring  whether  there  is  any  harm  in  this  or 
that,  we  should  rather  ask,  whether  it  becomes  the  redeemed 
of  Christ  and  the  heirs  of  immortality. 

The  doctrine  of  man's  immortality,  \/hen  once  the  mind 
^an  be  brought  to  dAvell  intently  on  the  subject,  is  certainly 
the  most  interesting  and  the  most  important  that  can  be 
presented  to  him.  Other  objects  may,  and  often  do,  occupy 
more  of  our  attention,  and  take  a  stronger  hold  of  our  feel- 
ings ;  but  that,  in  real  importance,  all  those  objects  are 
comparatively  trifles,  no  one  can  doubt.  Other  matters  of 
contemplation,  again,  may  be,  in  themselves,  not  less  awful, 
stupendous,  and  wonderful ;  but  none  of  these  can  so  inti- 
mately concern  ourselves.  Admirable  as  is  the  Avhole  of 
God's  creation,  no  other  of  his  works  can  be  so  interesting  to 
man,  as  man  himself;  sublime  as  is  the  idea  of  the  eternal 


334:  MISCELLANEOUS  APOPHTHEGMS. 

Creator  Himself,  our  own  eternal  existence  after  death  is 
an  idea  calculated  to  strike  us  with  still  more  overpowering 
emotions.  That  man,  feeble  and  short-lived  as  he  appears 
on  earth,  is  destined  bj  his  Maker  to  live  for  ever — that  ages 
hence,  when  -sve  and  our  remotest  posterity  shall  have  been 
long  forgotten  on  earth  —  and  countless  ages  yet  beyond, 
Avhen  this  earth  itself,  and  perhaps  a  long  succession  of  other 
worlds,  shall  have  come  to  an  end  —  we  shall  still  be  living; 
still  sensible  of  pleasure  or  pain,  to  a  greater  degree  perhaps 
than  our  present  nature  admits  of,  and  still  having  no 
shorter  space  of  existence  before  us  than  at  first.  These  are 
thoughts  which  overAvhelm  the  imagination  the  more,  the 
longer  it  dwells  upon  them.  The  understanding  cannot 
adequately  embrace  the  truths  it  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  ; 
and  when,  after  intently  gazing  for  some  time  on  this  vast 
prospect,  we  turn  aside  to  contemplate  the  various  courses 
of  earthly  events  and  transactions,  which  seem  like  rivulets 
trickling  into  the  boundless  ocean  of  eternity,  we  are  struck 
with  a  sense  of  the  infinite  insignificance  of  all  the  objects 
around  us  that  have  a  reference  to  our  present  state  alone ; 
while  every,  the  most  minute,  circumstance  that  may  concern 
the  future  life,  like  a  seed  from  which  some  mighty  tree  is 
to  spring,  rises  into  immeasurable  importance,  as  the  awfui 
reflection  occurs  that  perhaps  something  witich  is  taking 
place  at  this  very  moment,  nuiy  contribute  to  fix  our  final 
destiny.  There  is  no  one  truth,  in  short,  the  conviction  of 
which  tends  to  produce  so  total  a  change  in  our  estimate  of 
all  things. 

And  this  doctrine,  so  sublime  in  contemplation,  so  import- 
ant in  practice,  is  peculiar  to  the  Gospel.  There  it  was  first 
proposed  to  us;  by  it  "life  and  immortality  were  brought  to 
light;"  proposed,  not  as  a  matter  of  curious  speculation  and 
interesting  conjecture,  but  of  general  and  well-grounded,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOl'IITIIEGMS.  335 

practical  belief ;  brought  to  light,  not  as  an  ingenious  and 
pleasing  theory,  hut  as  an  established  truth  ;  displayed  to  us, 
not  as  a  wandering  meteor  that  serves  but  to  astonish  and 
amuse  us,  but  as  the  great  luminary  Avhich  is  destined  to 
brighten  our  prospects,  and  to  direct  our  steps.  "Jesus 
Christ  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light,  through  the 
Gospel." 

The  Christian's  hope,  as  founded  on  the  promises  contained 
in  the  Gospel,  is  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  that  hope 
depends  not  on  the  resurrection  of  the  very  same  particles 
of  matter, — an  idea  which  has  needlessly  exposed  it  to  cavils 
from  infidels  to  which  neither  reason  nor  revelation  affords 
means  of  replying.  For,  as  during  this  life  all  the  particles 
of  a  man's  body  are  undergoing  a  perpetual  and  rapid  change, 
that  which  constitutes  it,  his  body,  is  not  the  identity  of  the 
materials,  but  their  union  with  the  same  soul,  and  performance 
of  similar  functions.  And  that  there  should  be  such  a 
change  in  the  raised  body,  is  no  more  inconsistent  with  the 
promise  made  to  the  Christians,  than  it  would  be  if  a  kind 
benefactor,  who  had  engaged  to  rebuild  for  a  poor  man  his 
house  that  had  been  destroyed,  employed  in  the  erection  other 
and  different  materials  ;  it  would  suffice  that  he  had,  as 
before,  a  house ;  and  one  that  was  suitable  for  all  the  same 
purposes. 

It  seems  not  improbable  that  the  change  which  shall  take 
place  in  the  body  at  the  resurrection  of  man  from  the  dead, 
may  be  itself  the  appointed  means  for  bringing  about  a  change 
in  the  powers  and  tendencies  of  the  mind.  It  is  plain  that 
the  mind  greatly  depends  on  the  body  as  its  instrument ;  and 
on  the  several  members  of  the  body  depends  the  exercise  of 
several  distinct  powers  of  the  mind ;  so  that  the  loss  or 
imperfection  of  any  one  particular  organ, —  of  the  eye  for 


336  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTIIEnMS. 

instance,  or  of  the  car,  — will  shut  out  one  particular  kind 
of  knowledge  and  of  thought  from  the  mind; — that  of 
colours,  for  instance, — or  that  of  sounds.  It  is  quite  possible, 
therefore,  that  our  minds  may  at  this  moment  actually 
possess  faculties  ^vhich  have  never  been  exercised,  and  of 
which  we  have  no  notion  whatever ;  which  have  lain  inactive, 
unperceived,  and  undeveloped,  for  want  of  such  a  structure 
of  bodily  organs  as  is  necessary  to  call  tliem  forth,  and  give 
play  to  them.  A  familiar  instance  of  this  kind,  is  the  case 
of  a  man  born  blind  ;  whose  mind  or  spiritual  part  is  as 
perfect  in  itself  as  another  man's  ;  his  mind  is  as  capable 
even  of  receiving  impressions  of  visible  objects  by  the  eyes, 
as  if  the  eyes  themselves  (the  bodily  part)  were  perfect ;  for 
it  is  plainly  not  the  ej/es  that  see,  but  the  mind  by  means  of 
the  eyes  ;  yet  through  this  imperfection  one  whole  class  of 
ideas, —  all  those  of  objects  of  sight, —  aiV  completely  want- 
ing in  such  a  man.  Nor  could  he  ever  even  find  out  his 
imperfection,  if  he  were  not  told  of  it.  He  learns  from 
others  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  seeing,  and  as  light  and 
colours,  though  he  cannot  comprehend  what  they  are.  And 
if  you  could  suppose  such  a  case  as  blind  persons  brought  up 
from  childhood  without  ever  being  taught  that  others  possess- 
ed a  sense  more  than  themselves,  they  would  never  suspect 
anything  at  all  on  the  sul>ject ;  should  they  tlicn  obtain  sight 
they  would  be  astonished  at  discovering  that  they  had  all 
along  been  in  possession,  as  far  as  the  mind  is  concerned,  of 
a  faculty  which  they  had  had  no  opportunity  to  exercise, 
and  of  whose  very  existence  they  had  never  dreamed, —  the 
faculty  of  perceiving  the  visible  objects  presented  to  the  mind 
by  the  eye. 

In  the  expressions  and  thoughts  of  most  persons  on  tho 
subject    of   a    future    state,  it    seems    to    be    supposed    and 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  337 

implied,  though  not  expressly  stated,  that  the  heavenly  life 
will  be  one  of  inactivity,  and  perfectly  stationary,  —  that 
there  Avill  be  nothing  to  be  done,  nothing  to  be  learnt,  no  ad- 
vances to  be  made,  nothing  to  be  Itoped  for,  nothing  to  look 
forward  to,  except  a  continuance  in  the  same  state.  Now 
this  is  not  an  alluring  view  to  minds  constituted  as  ours  arc. 
The  ideas  of  change,  liope,  ^j)ro^re5s,  improvement,  acquire- 
ment, action,  are  so  intimately  connected  with  all  our  con- 
ceptions of  happiness, — so  interwoven  with  the  very  thought 
of  all  enjoyment,  —  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  us  to 
separate  them,  and  to  contemplate  a  state  from  which  they 
are  excluded,  without  an  idea  of  tcdiousness  and  Avearisome- 
ness  forcing  itself  upon  them.  Even  with  the  most  perfect 
assent  of  the  imderstanding  to  the  assertion  that  it  will  be 
exquisitely  happy,  such  a  state  can  never  be  interesting  to 
our  feelings  as  they  now  are,  involving  as  it  does  a  change 
of  our  nature  so  total  as  to  reverse  every  point  in  it.  To 
suppose  this  total  difference  between  the  true  Christian's  life 
on  earth,  and  the  Christian's  life  in  heaven,  is  to  suppose 
that  a  tree  which  we  had  been  carefully  cultivating  while  a 
sapling,  and  assiduously  rearing  to  maturity,  was  destined, 
immediately  on  attaining  maturity,  to  become  another  tree 
of  a  totally  different  kind — a  plant  of  some  distinct  species. 
Now  the  very  idea  of  a  change  so  total  as  to  reverse  every 
point  in  our  nature,  whether  good  or  bad,  must  necessarily 
tate  away  our  interest  in  the  reward  promised,  because  no 
one  can  bring  himself  to  feel  (though  he  may  to  believe)  that 
it  is  he  himself,  the  very  person  he  now  is,  that  will  obtain 
that  reward.  To  illustrate  this  last  remark  more  fully  :  the 
ancient  heathens  had  many  fables  of  men  being  transformed 
into  brutes  of  different  kinds,  by  the  power  of  their  gods  ; 
now  I  cannot  think  that  any  one  of  them  who  firmly  believed 
in  such  occurrences,  if  he  imagined  to  himself  the  case  of 
29 


338  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

his  being  thus  changed  into  an  animal  of  sonic  other  species, 
coukl  take  any  lively  interest  in  the  thought  of  what  should 
then  bcfal  him. 

But  I  can  see  nothing  either  in  reason  or  Scripture,  to 
compel  us  to  believe  that  there  is  any  further  change  to  be 
expected  than  is  necessary  to  qualify  the  faithful  for  a  state, 
where  what  is  evil  will  be  taken  away ;  what  is  imperfect, 
made  complete;  and  what  is  good,  extended  and  exalted. 
Surely,  this  supposed  reversing  of  the  dispositions  and  whole 
constitution  of  the  human  character,  is  utterly  inconsistent 
with  those  statements  of  Scripture  which  represent  this  life, 
as  not  only  a  state  of  trial,  but  of  preparation  also,  for  a 
better  world.  For  if  the  condition  into  which  the  Christian 
is  required  to  bring  himself  in  this  life,  bear  no  degree  of  re- 
semblance to  that  which  is  promised  in  the  next ;  surely 
there  could  be  nothing  of  pn-eparation  in  the  case.  But 
that  there  is  a  resemblance,  is  expressly  asserted  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  a  resemblance  between  heaven  and  everything  most 
pure  and  virtuous,  noblest  and  greatest  in  the  true  sense,  — 
most  sublimely  good  and  happy, — most  heavenly,  in  short — 
on  earth ;  and  a  resemblance  also  between  Christ's  sincere 
followers  and  Himself,  "who  shall  change  our  vile  body 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  accord- 
ing to  the  mighty  working  whereby  lie  is  able  even  to  subdue 
all  things  unto  Himself."  Thus  when  the  apostle  John  ex- 
horts his  hearers  to  imitate  the  example  of  Jesus,  and  to  be- 
come as  like  Him  as  possible,  he  does  so,  on  the  very  ground^ 
that  hereafter  they  may  hope  for  a  greater  degree  of  resem- 
blance to  Him.  "We  know  not  what  we  shall  be ;  but  we 
know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  unto  Him ; 
for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is  ;  and  every  man  that  Jiath  this 
hope  in  Him,  purifieth  himself  even  as  He  is  pure."  Now, 
if  the  Christian  be  called  upon  in  this  life  to  employ  himself 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIITIIEUMS.  339 

actively  in  promoting  God's  glory,  and  the  happiness  of  hia 
brethren,  if  he  be  encouraged,  also,  to  keep  continually  ad- 
vancing in  knowledge  and  in  goodness  ;  to  improve  in  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Avrittcn  AYord  of  God,  to  grow  in  grace 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  is  it  likely 
that  all  this  advancement  should  be  totally  stopped,  that  all 
this  activity  should  be  quenched,  that  all  these  dispositions 
should  be  changed — in  a  glorified  state  ?  And  if  the  wishes 
and  inclinations  of  the  blest  are  still  to  remain,  in  these  re- 
spects, similar  to  whaf  they  are  now,  of  course  the  life  they 
are  to  lead  (since  it  cannot  be  supposed  their  wishes  will  be 
vain, — their  desires  wngratified)  must  be  of  a  corresponding 
nature.  And  the  hope  that  it  will  be  so,  is  a  hope  as  well 
founded,  as  it  is  cheering  and  delightful.  To  be  ever  ad- 
vancing nearer  and  nearer  to  the  nature  of  our  Great  Mas- 
ter, though  we  can  never  reach  it,  —  to  gaze  ever  closer  and 
closer  on  those  glorious  and  lovely  qualities,  of  which  we  can 
never  understand  the  full  perfection,  —  to  advance  ever 
further  into  the  inexhaustible  treasury  of  the  knowledge  of 
God's  mighty  works,  seems  one  of  the  sublimest  and  most 
interesting,  and  most  encouraging,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
one  of  the  most  rational  expectations  that  a  zealous 
Christian  can  form  respecting  the  blissful  state  prepared  for 
Mm. 

I  see  no  reason  why  those  who  have  been  dearest  friends 
on  earth,  should  not,  when  admitted  to  the  future  happy 
state,  continue  to  be  so,  with  full  knowledge  and  recollection 
of  their  former  friendship.  If  a  man  is  still  to  continue  (as 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose)  a  social  being,  and  capable 
of  friendship,  it  seems  contrary  to  all  probability  that  he 
should  cast  off  or  forget  his  former  friends,  who  are  par- 
takers with  him  of  the  like  exaltation.     He  will  indeed  be 


340  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

greatly  changed  from  vhat  lie  was  on  earth,  and  unfitted 
perhaps  for  friendship  with  such  a  being  as  one  of  us  is 
710?^;  but  his  friend  will  have  undergone,  by  supposition, 
a  corresponding  change.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  those  who 
have  been  loving  playfellows  in  childhood,  grow  up,  if  they 
grow  up  with  good,  and  with  like  dispositions,  into  still  closer 
friendship  in  riper  years,  so  also  it  is  probable  that  when 
titis  our  state  of  childhood  shall  be  perfected,  in  the  maturity 
of  a  better  world,  the  like  attachment  will  continue  between 
those  companions  who  have  trod  together  the  Christian  path 
to  glory,  and  have  "taken  sweet  counsel  together,  and 
walked  in  the  house  of  God  as  friends."  A  change  to  in- 
diflerence  towards  those  who  have  fixed  their  hearts  on  the 
same  objects  with  ourselves  during  this  earthly  pilgrimage, 
and  have  given  and  received  mutual  aid  during  their  course, 
is  a  change  as  little,  I  trust,  to  be  expected  as  it  is  to  be  de- 
sired. It  certainly  is  not  such  a  change  as  the  Scriptures 
teach  us  to  prepare  for. 

And  a  belief  that  under  such  circumstances  our  earthly 
attachments  will  remain,  is  as  beneficial  as  it  is  reasonable. 
It  is  likely  very  greatly  to  influence  our  choice  of  friends, 
which  surely  is  no  small  matter.  A  sincere  Christian  would 
not  indeed  be,  at  any  rate,  utterly  careless  whether  those 
were  sincere  Christians  also  with  avIkhu  he  connected  him- 
self: but  his  care  is  likely  to  be  much  greater,  if  he  hopes 
that,  provided  he  shall  have  selected  such  as  are  treading  the 
same  path,  and  if  he  shall  have  studied  to  promote  their 
eternal  welfare,  he  shall  meet  again,  never  to  })art  more, 
those  to  whom  his  heart  is  most  engaged  here  below.  The 
hope  also  of  rejoining  in  a  better  state  the  friend  whom  ho 
sees  advancing  toward  that  state,  is  an  additional  spur  to  his 
own  virtuous  exertions.  Everything  which  can  make  heaven 
appear   more  desirable,  is  a  help  towards    his   progress  in 


MISCELLANEOUS    AI'OI'IITIIEGMS.  341 

Christian  excellence ;  and  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  earthly 
enjoyments  to  the  best  and  most  exalted  Christian  is  to  -wit- 
ness the  happiness  of  a  friend,  so,  one  of  the  brightest  of  his 
hopes  will  be,  that  of  exulting  in  the  most  perfect  happiness 
of  those  most  dear  to  him.  As  for  the  grief  which  a  man 
may  be  supposed  to  feel  for  the  loss — the  total  and  final  loss 
— of  some  who  may  have  been  dear  to  him  on  earth,  as  well 
as  of  vast  multitudes,  I  fear,  of  his  fellow-creatures,  I  have 
only  this  to  remark, — that  a  wise  and  good  man  in  this  life, 
though  he  never  ceases  to  use  his  endeavours  to  reclaim  the 
wicked  and  to  diminish  ev^ery  kind  of  evil  and  suffering ;  yet 
in  cases  where  it  is  clear  that  no  good  can  be  done  by  him, 
strives  as  far  as  possible  (though  often  without  much  success) 
to  withdraw  his  thoughts  fi'om  evil  which  he  cannot  lessen, 
but  which  still,  in  spite  of  his  efforts,  will  often  cloud  his 
mind.  We  cannot  at  pleasure  draw  off  our  thoughts  entirely 
from  painful  subjects  which  it  is  in  vain  to  meditate  about. 
The  power  to  do  this  completely,  when  we  will,  would  be  a 
great  increase  of  happiness ;  and  this  power  therefore  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  the  blest  Avill  possess  in  the  world  to 
come ;  that  they  will  occupy  their  minds  entirely  with  the 
thought  of  things  agreeable,  and  in  which  their  exertions  can 
be  of  service ;  and  Avill  be  able,  by  an  effort  of  the  will,  com- 
pletely to  banish  and  exclude  every  idea  that  might  alloy 
their  happiness. 

The  appearances  of  angels  served  to  pi'epare  men's 
minds,  in  some  degree,  for  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection, 
and  to  aid  their  conception  of  a  new  and  exalted  state  of  ex- 
istence in  another  Avorld.  And  this  connexion  between  the 
appearances  of  angels  and  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  Sadducees  Avho  denied  the  one, 
denied  the  other  also.     "For  the  Sadducees  say  there  is  no 

2y* 


3-42  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

rt'surrection,  neither  angel  nor  spirit,  but  the  Pharisees  con- 
fess both."  Tliere  -were  exhibited  to  tlie  senses  of  men 
created  beings  in  many  respects  like  men,  in  others  more  re- 
fined and  elevated  ;  having  a  human  form  and  speech,  and 
something  of  human  affections,  but  -without  the  grosser  attri- 
butes of  mortals.  This  served  to  form  and  to  keep  up  the 
idea,  not  only  that  man  is  not  the  highest  of  God's  creatures, 
but  moreover  that  there  is  a  state  of  existence,  exalted  in- 
deed and  glorified  beyond  that  in  which  we  now  are,  yet  not 
so  utterly  remote  from  our  present  condition  but  that  we  may 
conceive  something  resembling  it  to  be  reserved  for  us  here- 
after,  and  may  be  led  to  aspirations  after  something  higher 
and  better  than  man's  life  on  earth,  and  which  yet  shall  not 
be  inconsistent  with  our  consciousness  of  personal  identity, 
with  our  being,  and  feeling  ourselves  to  be,  the  same  indi- 
viduals. The  angels,  in  short,  in  their  visits  to  this  world  of 
ours,  gave  man  a  glimpse  of  a  higher  and  better  world. 
They  were  specimens,  so  to  speak,  of  what  is  to  be  found  in 
the  heavenly  Canaan,  our  Land  of  Promise,  answering  to 
those  fruits  which  the  spies,  sent  by  Moses  into  Canaan, 
brought  to  the  Israelites  in  the  dreary  and  barren  wilder- 
ness, in  order  to  convince  them  of  the  goodness  of  "  that 
pleasant  land,"  and  to  encourage  them  to  enter  into  it. 

It  is  worth  while  to  remark  that,  in  all  the  cases  recorded 
of  angels  bringing  messages  from  heaven,  a  sufficient  test 
was  provided  to  secure  the  persons  concerned  from  being 
misled  by  any  delusions  of  imagination,  and  to  assure  them 
sufficiently  of  its  being  a  real  communication  from  heaven 
that  they  had  received.  The  finding  of  a  babe  lying  in  the 
manger  at  the  inn,  as  the  shepherds  had  been  told  by  the 
angel,  saying,  "  tliis  sluill  be  the  sign  unto  you,"  proved 
clearly  that  they  had  not  been  dreaming,  or  deluded  by  any 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  343 

fancy.  Again,  the  absence  of  the  body  of  Jesus  from  tlic 
sepulchre,  and  afterwards  his  own  appearance  to  the  disciples, 
attested  the  truth  of  the  announcement  of  his  resurrection. 
And  again,  the  actual  release  of  the  Apostles  from  prison 
was  of  course  a  proof  perfectly  decisive  that  there  was  no 
delusion.  And,  as  Dr.  Palcy  has  justly  remarked,  eitlier 
Cornelius's  vision,  or  Peter's  —  taking  each  separately  — 
might,  conceivably,  have  been  a  delusion :  taking  the  two 
conjointly  and  connected,  as  they  were,  with  each  other,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  the  reality  of  either. 

The  members  of  Christ's  Church,  as  it  now  exists,  must 
not  suppose  that  they  are  less  favoured  than  God's  people 
were  formerly,  on  account  of  their  not  having,  like  those, 
sensible  communications  from  heaven  by  thunderings,  and 
supernatural  flames,  and  voices,  and  visits  of  angels.  We  who 
have  a  religion  less  addressed  to  the  senses,  and  more  spiritual, 
than  the  earlier  dispensations,  have,  no  less  than  God's  people 
of  old,  a  promise  of  divine  presence,  and  aid,  and  guidance. 
Our  divine  Master  is  present  with  us  by  his  Spirit.  He  visits 
us,  in  the  thoughts  that  arise  in  om-  hearts, — in  the  occur- 
rences that  happen  around  us.  Let  any  one  suppose  the 
case  of  an  angelic  vision  presenting  itself  to  his  bodily  senses. 
Let  him  imagine  himself  visited  by  a  superhuman  being,  clad 
in  celestial  light,  and  announcing  himself  as  a  messenger 
from  heaven.  And  suppose  him  to  remind  him  that  the 
Saviour  who  died  on  the  cross  for  his  redemption,  is  risen 
from  the  dead,  and  is  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  him  in  the 
mansions  of  eternal  bliss ;  but  that  he  will  forfeit  this  rich 
inheritance,  and  lose  all  that  He  has  done  for  him,  unless  he 
gives  proof  of  his  love  to  Him  by  keeping  His  commandments ; 
by  striving  to  be  led  by  His  Spirit  into  an  imitation  of  Him. 
The  angel  also   admonishes   him   perhaps   respecting   some 


344  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

kno-vm  sm  in  -which  he  is  indulging,  or  some  kno'v>'n  duty  he 
is  habitually  neglecting.  Or  the  heavenly  messenger  points 
out  to  liim,  how  little  he  practises  self-examination,  or  how 
much  he  is  devoted  to  the  cares  and  pleasures  of  this  life, 
•which  is  so  soon  to  come  to  an  end ;  and  hoAV  little,  in  com- 
parison, his  thoughts  dwell  on  the  life  beyond  the  grave, 
and  the  account  he  vrill  have  to  render  at  the  last  day,  of 
all  that  he  shall  have  done  or  left  undone, — of  all  the  advan- 
tages he  shall  have  used,  or  -wasted  — among  the  rest,  of  the 
very  warnings  the  angel  is  addressing  to  him. 

Now  imagine  such  a  resplendent  vision,  and  such  a  message, 
•were  actually  brought  before  his  senses.  He  would  surely  be 
awe-struck;  he  would  be  roused  from  carelessness;  he  would 
be  filled  -with  earnest  good  resolutions  to  profit  by  the  heavenly 
warning,  by  devoting  himself  henceforth  more  than  ever  to 
the  care  of  his  eternal  salvation.  And  now,  how  does  the 
case  actually  stand  ?  Everything  that  I  have  been  supposing 
the  angel  to  have  said  to  him,  he  already  knows  as  it  is.  Why 
not  then  act,  at  once,  as  if  he  had  received  this  angelic 
message  ? 

Instead  of  indulging  in  any  vain  cravings  after  a  more 
complete  system  of  divine  guidance  than  we  have  any  reason 
for  expecting,  for  we  are  required  to  walk  by  faith  and  not 
by  sight,  it  is  for  us  to  make  the  most  of  the  advantages  wo 
do  possess,  by  studying  prayerfully  the  Holy  Scriptures 
which  are  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation,  and  (knowing 
that,  "  every  good  and  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  comcth 
down  from  the  Father  of  lights  "),  by  listening  to  and  follow- 
ing as  a  voice  from  heaven  —  as  an  angel  of  the  Lord  — 
every  suggestion  that  would  lead  us  to  Iliiii  —  every  warning 
that  would  keep  us  in  His  patlis. 

Ask  yourself,  each  one  who  sincerely  desires  divine  help 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  845 

and  guidance,  "whether  you  may  not,  like  some  holy  men  of 
old,  have  "received  angels  unawares;"  Avhether  you  may 
not  have  been  visited,  though  not  by  a  divine  messenger  in 
bodily  shape,  yet  by  some  thought  or  feeling  which  in  some 
hour  of  trial,  has  led  you —  or  would  have  led  you  —  out  of 
evil  company,  or  some  other  such  danger ;  even  as  the  angels 
led  Lot  out  of  the  city  doomed  to  destruction,  and  would 
have  saved  his  sons-in-law,  had  they  not  refused  the  guidance. 
May  not  some  temporal  loss,  or  mortification,  or  alarm,  have 
occurred  opportunely  to  shake  off  from  you  the  chain  of  over- 
devotedness  to  worldly  objects,  or  to  rouse  you  from  indolent 
carelessness,  like  the  angel  which  visited  Peter  in  the  prison, 
bidding  him  arise  and  gird  himself,  and  causing  his  fetters  to 
fall  oft',  and  the  prison  gates  to  open  ?  Or  may  not  the 
ordinary  course  of  events — that  is,  of  God's  providence, 
which  makes  "  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  Him  " —  have  sometimes  introduced  you  to  some  book, 
or  some  teacher,  fitted  to  supply  to  you  just  the  instruction, 
or  the  consolation,  you  were  most  in  need  of;  even  as  the 
angel  brought  Cornelius  to  the  knowledge  of  Peter,  wlio 
should  "tell  him  what  he  ought  to  do?"  In  these  and 
similar  cases,  you  may  have  been  receiving  angelic  visits 
unawares ;  since  every  person  or  thing  through  which  God 
commnnicates  with  us,  is,  so  far,  his  angel  or  messenger. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  are,  in  the  New  Testament, 
much  more  frequent  notices  of  evil  than  of  good  angels.  The 
cause  of  this  may  probably  have  been,  that  whatever  good 
offices  men  may  receive  fi'om  these  latter,  are  never  to  be 
sought  from  them.  And  it  is  likely  therefore  that  their  ex- 
istence and  agency  arc  the  less  frequently  mentioned,  for 
fear  men  should  be  led  into  the  error  of  false  worship.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  dangers  to  which  any  one  may  be  exposed 


346  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

from  evil  spirits,  it  was  right  to  give  warning  of,  and  fre- 
quently to  remind  men  to  be  on  tlieir  guard  against  them. 
But  thougli  in  the  Ohl  Testament  the  alhisions  to  such  beings 
are  nnich  less  frequent  than  in  the  New,-  yet  there  is  no  such 
entire  omission  of  the  subject  as  a  hasty  reader  might  be  led 
to  suppose.  For  the  gods  worshipped  by  the  ancient  heathen 
were  believed  by  the  Jews,  and  by  the  early  Christians  also, 
to  be  really  existing  evil-demons.  For  we  find  the  Jews 
speaking,  for  instance,  of  "  Beelzebub  as  the  Prince  of  the 
demons  ;"  and  we  know  that  Beelzebub  was  the  Philistine  god 
worshipped  at  Ekron.  (2  Kings  i.  2  ;  See  also  2  Chron.  xi. 
15 ;  Levit.  xvii.  7,  and  Psahn  cvi.  37.)  And  we  find  the 
Apostle  Paul  saying  (1  Cor.  x.  10,  20),  "  the  things  wliich  the 
Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  unto  demons,  and  not  unto 
God."  Demons,  it  is  to  be  observed,  is  the  term  used  in  the 
original,  which  our  translators  have  in  several  places  (unfor- 
tunately) translated  "devils;"  not  recollecting  that  devil  is 
the  proper  name  of  an  individual,  and  accordingly  is  never 
used  by  the  Sacred  Writers  in  the  plural  number,  as  applied 
to  evil-spirits,  whom  they  designate  by  the  terms  "  unclean 
spirits"  and  "demons."  And  this  title,  "demons,"  is  the 
very  one  given  by  the  Pagans  themselves  to  the  objects  of 
their  worship.  Thus,  tliough  to  the  Jews  these  beings  were 
an  abomination,  and  the  worship  of  them  regarded  as  im- 
pious, while  the  Pagans  built  temples  and  offered  sacrifices 
and  prayers  to  them,  their  real  existence  was  admitted  by 
both.  And  thus,  whether  this  belief  was  a  delusion  or 
well-grounded,  it  was  therefore  quite  necessary  that  Jesus 
and  his  Apostles  should  make  some  mention  of  beings  which 
were,  in  fact,  tlie  very  gods  the  heathen  intended  to  worship, 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  men  on  their  guard  against  either 
being  seduced  into  the  Avorship  of  them  ;  and  also  for  the 
purpose  of  dispelling  any  false  terrors,  and  of  giving  assur- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGM!?.  347 

ance  of  Christ's  effectual  protection,  and  final  triumph  over 
these  adversaries.  Accordingly,  we  find  frequent  mention 
made  by  the  Sacred  Writers  of  evil  angels  or  demons,  and 
from  various  allusions  we  gather  that  these  evil  spirits  are 
"angels  who  kept  not  their  first  estate,"  that  is,  who  by  dis- 
obedience and  rebellion  against  God,  fell  from  the  condition 
(perhaps,  a  state  of  trial,  such  as  we  are  in  now)  in  whicli 
they  had  once  existed,  and  becoming  pre-eminently  depraved, 
and  enemies  to  the  Lord,  sought,  and  still  seek,  to  corrupt 
mankind — watching  to  seduce  men  to  their  ruin;  "  seeking," 
as  the  Apostle  Peter  expresses  it,  "whom  they  may  devour." 
And  it  appears,  moreover,  that  these  evil  beings  have  a 
Prince  or  Leader,  called  Satan  (the  Adversary),  the  Wicked 
One,  the  Devil,  of  whom  our  Lord  expressly  speaks  as 
exercising  authority  over  a  host  of  evil  spirits,  called  by  him 
the  angels  of  the  devil,  (as  when  he  speaks  of  "everlasting 
fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,")  and  exercising 
influence  by  their  agency ;  and  thus  being  present  to  the 
minds  of  many  men  at  the  same  time ;  since  a  leader  of  a 
numerous  host  may  be  said  (and  commonly  is  said)  to  do  that 
which  is  actually  performed  by  his  servants  or  soldiers  under 
his  direction.  Numerous  are  the  references  to  the  existence 
of  the  great  spiritual  personal  enemy  of  mankind :  see,  for 
instance,  among  many  others,  Matt.  xiii.  25,  39 ;  John  viii. 
44  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  6  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  26  ;  1  Petei;  v.  8  ;  1  John  iii. ; 
Ileb.  ii.  14  ;  Rev.  xx.  2.  Surely  it  is  an  awful,  an  appalling 
thought,  that  we  may  be  this  moment  and  every  moment,  in 
the  presence  of  malignant  spirits,  who  are  watching  occasions 
for  our  destruction. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  express  and  reiterated 
statements,  there  are  persons  professing  belief  in  the  Sacred 
"Writings  who  yet  deny  the  existence  of  any  evil  spirits ; 
maintaining  that  it  is  a  thing  utterly  impossible  that  God 


348  MISCELLANEOUS     APOPnTHEGMS. 

should  permit  any  such  beings  to  exist.  And  as  for  what 
Christ  and  his  Apostles  have  said,  their  expressions,  it  is 
contended,  are  to  be  understood  as  a  mere  accommodation 
to  the  popular  notions  of  the  day.  When  they  speak  of  any 
temptation,  or  any  aflliction,  bodily  or  mental,  as  proceeding 
from  Satan  or  his  angels,  tliis  ■we  are  told  is  only  a  con- 
descension to  vulgar  prejudices,  and  -what  is  meant  is  merely 
a  "personification"  of  moral  evil ;  a  metaphorical- description 
of  mail's  vicious  propensities  or  natural  diseases.  Thus  they 
explain  away  the  narrative  given  by  tliree  of  the  Evangelists 
of  the  temptation  of  our  Lord  in  the  "wilderness,  from  the 
direct  assaults  of  Satan,  into  a  parable,  or  figurative 
description.  Now  it  is  observable,  that  this  is  not  one  of 
those  transactions  which  are  mentioned  incidentally  in  the 
course  of  the  narratives  of  other  matters,  nor  is  it  a  trans- 
action wliich  the  Sacred  Writers  had  witnessed,  and  which 
they  might  be  supposed  to  have  mentioned  merely  because 
they  had  witnessed  it,  but  it  must  have  been  brought  to  their 
knowledge  by  Jesus  himself;  cither  relating  it  orally  to  his 
disciples  while  he  remained  on  earth,  or  else  communicating 
it  by  the  inspiration  of  His  Spirit  afterwards.  And  yet  we 
are  told  that  we  are  to  regard  this  narrative  as  a  poetical 
figure  of  speech,  representing  Satan  as  a  real  personal  agent, 
while  in  reality  no  such  being  had  any  part  in  the  transaction, 
or  ever  existed  air  all.  But,  even  supposing  the  language 
emi)loycd  to  be  such  as  might,  conceivably,  bear  such  an 
interpretation,  still  Jesus  knew  that  his  hearers  would  not  so 
interpret  it,  but  would  understand  it  in  the  literal  obvious 
sense,  in  which  indeed  it  has  been  understood  by  nearly  all 
Christians  for  eighteen  centuries.  Now  when  we  remember 
that  he  who  speaks  that  which  is  false  in  the  sense  in  wliich 
he  is  aware  he  will  be  understood,  is  manifestly  a  deceiver  ; 
not  the  less,  though  ho  may  have  some  hidden  meaning  which 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  349 

is  true ;  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  moral  notions  of  those 
who  can  assert,  that  he,  Avhom  they  profess  to  acknowledge 
as  the  heaven-sent  Teacher  of  the  Truth,  led  his  disciples  to 
believe  that  he  was  tempted  by  a  personal  agent,  when  he 
hne-io  that  no  such  being  was  concerned  ?  Him  whom  these 
bold  interpreters  profess  to  venerate  as  having  "  come  into 
the  world  to  bear  witness  of  the  truth:"  Kim  and  his 
Apostles  they  represent  as  not  merely  conniving  at,  but  de- 
liberately confirming  and  establishing  a  superstitious  error  ! 
For  it  must  be  remembered,  that  this  belief  of  both  Gentile 
and  Jew  in  the  existence  of  evil  spirits,  if  an  error,  is  cer- 
tainly one  which  the  Lord  and  his  Apostles  decidedly  incul- 
cated. They  do  not  merely  leave  uncontradicted,  or  merely 
assent  to  what  is  said  by  others  as  to  this  point,  or  merely 
allude  to  it  incidentally,  but  they  go  out  of  their  way,  as  it 
were,  to  assert  the  doctrine,  and  most  plainly  and  earnestly 
dwell  upon  it.  Not  only  do  they  make  distinct  mention  of  a 
single  individual  evil  being  as  the  great  enemy  of  man,  and 
of  his  angels  or  emissaries,  but  numerous  instances  of  their 
agency  are  recorded  by  them.  Indeed,  among  the  miracles 
related  by  the  Sacred  Writers,  as  wrought  by  Jesus  and  his 
disciples,  none  are  more  prominently  put  forward  than  the 
cures  of  persons  possessed  by  evil  spirits,  or  demons ; 
(whence  the  word  demoniac)  and  our  Lord  himself  and  his 
disciples  earnestly  dwell  upon  this  class  of  miracles,  ;is  a 
distinguishing  mark  of  the  Messiah.  "  If  I,"  said  He,  "  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  demons,  then  is  the  kingdom  of 
God  come  upon  you."  And  so  fully  was  this  recognized  as 
a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Messiah,  that  on  the  occasion 
of  one  of  those  cures,  (recorded  in  Matt.  xii.  22)  we  find  the 
people  exclaiming,  "Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David?"  And 
when  Jesus  sent  forth  the  seventy  disciples  to  proclaim  "the 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand,"  we  are  told  that  the  seventy 
30 


850  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTUEGMS. 

returned  from  their  mission  with  joy,  saying,  "Lord,  even 
the  demons  are  subject  to  us  tlirough  thy  name,  to  Avhicli  he 
rephes,  saying,  "I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven." 

And  yet,  plainly  as  these  narratives  set  forth  the  reality 
of  demoniacal  possession,  there  are  persons  found  to  deny  it 
even  among  those  "vvho  acknowledge  the  existence  of  evil 
Spirits ;  and  by  these  still  greater  violence,  if  possible,  is 
done  to  the  words  of  the  Sacred  Writers.  These  rash  and 
profane  interpreters  require  us  to  believe  that  when  Jesus 
spoke  of  "  casting  out  demons,"  he  meant  curing  natural 
diseases,  and  was  merely  accommodating  himself  to  the 
prevailing  superstition.  They  proceed  on  the  assumption 
that  the  Jews  alone,  of  all  nations,  had  this  belief  in  de- 
moniacal possession,  which  is  utterly  contrary  to  the  fact. 
And  yet  this  notion  is  not  uncommonly  entertained  even  by 
educated  persons,  not  unacquainted  with  the  works  of  the 
Classical  Writers ;  though  the  Greek  word  used  by  them, 
and  by  the  New  Testament  Writers  is  the  same ;  and  though 
the  allusions  by  the  heathen  authors  are  frequent  to  posses- 
sion by  a  demon  (or  by  a  god  ;  the  two  words  being  employed 
])y  them  with  little  or  no  distinction)  as  a  thing  of  no  uncom- 
mon occurrence.  The  Greek  word,  from  which  our  word 
enthusiast  is  derived,  signified  a  person  thus  possessed.  We 
read  also  in  the  book  of  Acts  (xvii.)  of  a  damsel  —  not  in 
Judca  but  at  Philippi  of  Macedonia,  a  Roman  colony  —  pos- 
sessed by  a  "Spirit  of  divination."  —  And  the  heathen 
Writers  represented  the  priests  and  priestesses  of  their 
celebrated  oracles  as  possessed  by  a  like  spirit  of  divination. 
The  reality  of  the  existence  of  demoniacal  possession,  in 
conection  with  tlicse  oracles,  matters  not  to  our  present  pur- 
pose, for  which  it  is  sullicient  to  be  fully  aware  and  keep 
steadily  in  mind,  that  such  was  the  belief  among  those  Pagans, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  351 

no  less  than  among  the  Jews.  The  only  difference  was  (and 
this  also  has  aided  in  misleading  many  as  to  the  fact)  that 
the  heathen,  as  already  observed,  Avorshipped  as  their  gods, 
the  beings,  or  supposed  beings,  which  the  Jews  held  in 
detestation  as  "unclean  spirits."  Proceeding,  however,  on 
this  assumption,  Avhich  we  see  to  be  entirely  gratuitous,  that 
the  belief  in  demoniacal  possession  was  peculiar  to  the  Jews, 
these  modern  interpreters  maintain  that  the  supposed 
"demoniacs"  were  no  other  than  madmen  whose  insane 
fancies  led  them  to  believe  themselves  possessed.  Now  this 
supposition  is  utterly  at  variance  with  the  Sacred  History. 
For  though  it  is  certainly  not  an  improbable  thing  in  itself, 
that  some  madmen  should  entertain  a  groundless  fancy  of 
being  thus  possessed,  yet  that  the  Jews  did  not  attribute 
madness  generally  to  evil  spirits  and  that  they  distinguished 
it  from  cases  of  "possession"  is  quite  certain.  We  read,  for 
instance  (in  Matt,  x.),  that  "they  brought  unto  Him  all  sick 
l>eople  that  were  taken  with  divers  diseases  and  torments, 
and  those  that  were  j^ossessed  with  demons,  and  those  who 
were  lunatics,  and  those  that  had  the  palsy,  and  He  healed 
them."  And  what  is  more,  we  find  on  the  other  hand  that 
the  cases  recorded  are  far  from  being  exclusively  those  of 
madness ;  for  we  read  (in  Luke  xiii.  11)  of  a  "  spirit  of 
infirmity,"  and  (in  Matt,  xii.)  of  a  case  of  blindness  and 
dumbness.  The  belief  of  the  Jews  therefore, — be  it  in  any 
case  correct  or  erroneous  —  as  to  this  agency  of  evil  spirits, 
could  not  have  been  founded  on  what  was  said  by  insane 
patients  concerning  their  own  condition.  And  as  the  fact 
that  madness  and  infirmity,  and  blindness,  and  dumbness, 
may  be  caused  by  bodily  diseases  was  as  well  known  by  the 
Jews  as  by  us,  there  must  have  been  some  marks — we  cannot 
at  all  tell  what,  as  there  is  no  record  of  any  such — which  led 
them  to  distinguish  —  as   they  undoubtedly  did  distinguish 


352  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

whether  rightly  or  Avroncly — -svliat  afllictions  were,  and  ■were 
not,  caused  by  the  direct  agency  of  demons. 

Such  are  some  of  the  gratuitous  assumptions  upon  Avhich 
a  theory  is  based  that  represents  our  Lord  and  his  apostles 
as  accommodating  themselves    to    a  popular  superstition  in 
calling  the    curing    of  natural    diseases  the  casting  out  of 
demons,  leaving  the  shocking  consequence  to  follow  that  they 
are  answerable  for  all  the  mischiefs  that  have  arisen  froni 
an  error  which  they  fostered  instead  of  removing  it.     And 
this    ei^or,  supposing  it  to   be  such  —  one    not   relating  to 
speculative   points   of  natural   science  —  for  instruction   in 
which  Scripture  was  not    given,  and  therefore  upon  which 
popular  language  was  used  as  the  only  intelligible  one — but 
on  a  point  intimately  connected  with  religion,  and  moreover, 
a  matter  in  which  the  contradiction  of  the  popular  belief 
would  have  been  easy  and  intelligible ;  being,  in  fact,  the 
very  doctrine  then  held  by  the  Sadducees.     If  such  a  con- 
nivance at  religious  error  can  be  in  any  case  justifiable,  in 
this,  at  least,  it  would  have  been  most  completely  inexcusable. 
It  would  not  have  had  even  "  the  tyrant's  plea" — necessity, 
in  its  favour.     For  supposing  the  Jews  to  be  ever  so  much 
wedded  to  their  belief  in  demoniacal  possession,  and  to  liave 
been  disposed  to  reject  with  scorn  any  one  wlio  should  have 
merely  told  them  that  those  patients  whom  they  supposed 
to  be  possessed  were  not  so,  and  that  the  popular  opinion 
was  all  a  delusion, — supposing  this,  still  if  any  one  who  gave 
them  such  an  assurance  did,  at  the  same  time,  cure  those 
vei'y  patients,  every  one  would  have  readily  believed  liini. 
To  take  a  parallel  case :  there  are  districts  in  Europe,  and 
even  in  our  own  country,  where  the  vulgar  sometimes  believe 
ihiit  children  or  otliers,  afflicted  with  some  unusual  kind  of 
disease,  are  bewitched  by  some  malicious  neighbour,  and  tliey 
would  be  highly  displeased  with  any  one  who  should  simply 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  353 

tell  them  that  this  is  groundless.  But  if  we  could  go  among 
these  superstitious  people,  and  give  them  assurance,  at  the 
same  time  instantly  and  completely  restoring  the  sufferers  to 
health  by  a  word  or  a  touch,  —  and  this  not  merely  in  one 
instance,  but  in  all  the  cases,  and  these  very  numerous  ones 
that  were  brought  before  you,  no  one  can  doubt  that  you 
would  readily  be  believed. 

The  connivance,  therefore,  at  superstitious  error,  the  con- 
firmation and  propagation  of  religious  delusion,  which  these 
interpreters  impute  to  Jesus  and  his  followers,  would  have 
been  one  of  the  most  gratuitous  and  most  inexcusable  of  all 
the  "  pious  frauds"  that  ever  were  committed.  Now,  if  they 
judged  such  a  "  pious  fraud"  as  this  justifiable  and  right, 
any  man  of  common  sense  and  common  honesty  must  distrust 
them  altogether.  For  "how  can  one  be  sure"  he  may  say, 
"at  what  point  these  pious  frauds  are  to  stop?"  How,  in 
short,  can  one  be  justified  in  giving  any  credit  at  all  to  those 
whom  we  suppose  to  have  been  knowingly  and  wilfully 
deceiving  their  hearers  ? 

There  are  two  cases  of  the  agency  of  evil  spirits  recorded 
in  the  New  Testament  sufiicient  to  prove  to  all  who  sincerely 
admit  the  truth  of  our  Scriptures,  that  the  power  attributed 
to  demons  was  not  a  mere  description  in  figurative  language 
of  natural  disease,  no  mere  delusion  of  a  superstitious  and 
enthusiastic  imagination,  but  literally  and  undoubtedly  a 
fact.  The  one  is,  our  Lord's  temptation  by  Satan  in  the 
wilderness  ;  and  the  other,  the  case  in  which  Jesus  is  recorded 
by  three  of  the  evangelists  to  have  relieved  a  demoniac,  and 
permitted  the  demons  to  enter  into  a  herd  of  swine.  In  the 
temptation  of  the  So7i  of  God,  and  in  the  possession  of  brute 
animals, — such  as  the  entrance  of  the  demons  into  the  herd 
of  swine,  the  influence  of  imagination  could  have  no  place. 
30* 


364  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPUTHEGMS. 

In  the  first,  the  divine  patient  was  above  its  delusions,  in  the 
other  the  hrute  Avas  as  much  below  it. 

The  narrative  of  tlie  transaction  among  the  Gadarenes  is 
perfectly  decisive  in  j)roving  the  reality  of  demoniacal 
agency,  and  hence  it  is  that  those  who  arc  resolved  to  main- 
tain, at  all  hazards,  a  contrary  theory,  have  found  in  their 
attempts  to  explain  away  the  words  of  the  sacred  writers, 
their  ingenuity,  and  I  may  add,  their  credulity,  not  a  little 
taxed.  Some  of  these  rash  and  profane  interpreters  explain 
the  transaction  by  saying,  that  it  was  the  maniac  himself — 
the  man  who  imagined  himself  possessed  by  a  legion  of 
demons,  who  in  a  paroxysm  of  frenzy  (of  course  before  his 
cure),  drove  the  herd  of  swine  over  a  precipice  into  the  lake, 
and  who  immediately  afterwards  was  cured  of  his  malady  by 
Jesus. 

Now  this  is  completely  at  variance  with  the  narrative  of 
all  three  of  the  evangelists.  For  they  all  agree  in  describing 
the  herd  as  driven  over  the  precipice  after  the  demons  were 
gone  out  of  the  man ;  that  is,  after  liis  cure  was  comjdeted. 
And  the  whole  transac*:ion  must  have  passed  before  the  eyes 
of  the  Apostles  and  other  discij)les,  who  were  in  attendance 
on  Jesus,  as  well  as  of  the  keepers  of  the  swine  ;  so  that  we 
must,  if  this  theory  is  received,  suppose  all  of  these  to  have 
combined  to  falsify  the  narrative  in  a  most  important  point. 
No  one  —  even  a  retired  student  more  conversant  with  books 
than  with  the  habits  of  difterent  kinds  of  animals — can  doubt 
that  it  must  have  been  at  least  a  very  strange  and  striking 
spectacle  to  see  a  man  driving  —  not  such  animals  as  sheep, 
but  a  herd  of  two  thousand  swine,  —  not  from  one  field  to 
another,  but,  over  a  cliff,  into  a  lake !  One  can  hardly 
pronounce,  perhajjs,  what  is  or  is  not  jiossible  to  be  eflfectcd 
l»y  a  furious  maniac,  with  terrific  cries  and  frantic  gestures, 
liut  certainly  if  such  a  thing  had  taken  place,  it  must  have 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOrilTIIEnMS.  355 

been  what  none  of  the  spectators  could  be  deceived  in,  and 
must  have  made  a  strong  impression  on  them.  Yet  all  the 
Evangelists  agree  that  no  such  thing  did  take  place ;  all 
giving  a  totally  different  account  of  the  transaction. 

Moreover,  they  all  agree  in  saying  that  the  Gadarenes 
came  and  "  besought  Jesus  to  depart  from  their  country;" 
considering  that  it  was  He  who  had  caused  the  destruction  of 
the  herd.  But  if  the  keepers  of  the  swine  had  seen  that  it 
was  the  mayiiac  himself  who  had  done  them  this  damage, 
they  could  never  have  felt  this  displeasure  and  dread,  towards 
the  very  person  who  had  cured  that  maniac.  One  might 
as  well  suppose  they  would  have  been  displeased  with  a 
man  for  quenching  a  destructive  fire,  or  stopping  a  raging 
pestilence. 

We  must  suppose,  therefore  —  according  to  the  above 
theory  —  this  portion  also  of  the  narrative  to  have  been  a 
fabrication. 

Now  one  may  fairly  ask  any  one  who  believes  the  Evange- 
lists to  have  falsified  their  history  in  such  material  points, 
whether  he  can  trust  them  at  all,  for  anything  ?  and  whether 
such  Avitnesses  would  be  received  at  all  in  any  court,  or  rejected 
with  indignant  scorn  ? 

To  take  a  paralled  case :  suppose  some  witnesses  to  declare 
that  a  certain  individual  had  been  seized  and  carried  off  as  a 
slave  by  a  band  of  murderous  robbers,  who  compelled  him  to 
aid  them  in  their  outrages ;  that  at  length  he  escaped  out  of 
their  hands  ;  and  that  after  this  escape,  they  went  without 
him  and  committed  some  remarkable  burglary,  or  other  such 
crime  ;  and  then,  suppose  it  to  come  out  afterwards,  that  it 
was  he  himself  who  committed  that  very  crime,  and  that 
those  witnesses  had  actually  seen  him  with  his  own  hands 
breaking  open  the  house,  and  robbing  and  murdering  the 
inmates ;  would  not  any  man  of  common  sense  and  common 


356  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

honesty  decide  that  they  were  utterly  un^vorthy  of  credit,  and 
deserved  to  be  branded  with  infamy  ? 

Any  one  then  who  adopts  the  theory  I  have  been  alluding 
to,  may  as  well  go  on  to  maintain  that  the  tempest  which  — 
just  before  —  our  Lord  is  said  to  have  quelled  with  a  word, 
had  at  length  abated,  as  all  storms  do  ;  and  that  his  disciples 
represented  it  as  having  sudJcnIi/  ceased,  on  his  speaking; 
and  that  the  sick  persons  lie  was  said  to  have  cured,  some 
of  them  had  recovered  long  before,  and  some,  long  afterwards, 
and  some,  not  at  all :  and  in  short,  that  the  disciples  orirjinally 
joined  Jesus  for  no  reason  at  all,  and  afterwards  fabricated 
the  accounts  of  his  mighty  works. 

This  theory,  little  deserving  of  notice  as  it  is  in  itself, 
becomes  important  to  be  dwelt  upon  as  showing  how  decisively 
this  narrative  proves  the  reality  of  demoniacal  agency,  if 
understood  in  the  plain  sense  of  the  words,  and  as  the 
writers  kiieiv  they  wouhi  be  understood ;  since  those  who 
arc  resolved  at  all  hazards  to  reject  the  doctrine,  are  obliged 
to  explain  away  the  narrative  by  resorting  to  the  most  ex- 
travagantly forceil  interpretations,  and  the  most  revolting 
conjectures. 

The  modern  theories  of  some  professed  Christian  writers 
leave  us  wholly  at  a  loss  to  decide  where  Christianity  ends 
and  Infidelity  begins.  They  forget  one  great  and  important 
distinction  between  the  works  of  any  writers  who  do  not 
pretend  to  divine  revelation,  and  the  books  of  the  Sacred 
Writers.  We  may  hold  such  works,  for  instance,  as  those  of 
Aristotle,  or  Cicero,  or  Bacon,  in  great  cstcj^m,  without 
believing  what  we  find  in  them  any  further  than  our  own 
reason  approves  ;  and  even,  if  wc  reject,  without  sufFiciont 
reason,  some  part  of  what  these  authors  teach,  and  thus  lose 
a  part  of  the  truths  they   inculcate,  wc  may  yet  profit  by 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  357 

another  part,  and  be  in  no  danger  of  continually  rejecting 
more  and  more.  But  it  is  not  so  with  a  writer  who  professes 
(as  the  Apostles  do)  to  be  communicating  a  divine  revelation 
imparted  to  him  through  the  means  of  miracles.  In  matters, 
indeed,  unconnected  with  religion,  such  as  points  of  history, 
or  natural  philosophy,  he  may  be  as  liable  to  error  as  other 
men,  without  any  disparagement  to  his  pretensions ;  but  if 
we  reject  as  false  any  par't  of  the  religion  which  he  professes 
himself  divinely  sent  to  teach,  we  cannot,  consistently, 
believe  but  that  his  pretensions  are  either  an  imposture  or  a 
delusion,  and  that  he  is  wliolhj  unworthy  of  credit.  So 
difficult  is  it  to  stop  short  of  a  rejection  of  Scripture,  if  we 
once  begin,  by  making  our  oion  conjectures  the  standard  by 
which  tve  try  Scripture,  instead  of  taking  Scripture  as  the 
standard  for  ourselves. 

Any  man  of  honesty,  and  candour,  and  common  sense,  is 
competent  clearly  to  perceive  two  things  —  first,  that  Jesus 
did  not  accommodate  Himself  to  the  religious  prejudices  of 
His  time  and  country ;  else  He  would  not  have  been  rejected 
and  crucified  by  His  countrymen ;  who  would  have  received 
Him  gladly  if  He  would  have  consented  to  fiill  in  with  their 
notions,  and  to  become  such  a  king  as  their  expectations  were 
fixed  on. 

And  secondly,  that  His  followers  would  never  have  know- 
ingly exposed  themselves  as  they  did,  to  scorn,  and  persecu- 
tion, and  violent  death,  but  in  the  cause  of  a  religion  which 
they  believed  true,  and  in  attestation  of  what  they  had  plainly 
seen  and  heard ;  and  that  consequently  we  must,  if  we  Avould 
be  Christians  indeed,  and  fellow-disciples  with  them,  receive 
their  words  (in  all  that  relates  to  religion)  as  true,  and  true 
in  the  sense  in  which  they  themselves  knew  that  they  were 
understood. 


358  MlSCELLANEOrS    APOPriTHKCMS.  ■ 

AVhat  is  revealed  to  us,  therefore,  in  Scripture  on  various 
points,  is  to  be  received,  (liowever  different  it  may  be  from 
Avliat  we  miirbt  have  conjectured,)  with  humble  faith,  and  re- 
verent docility. 

Excessive  eagerness  to  get  over  some  perplexing  difficulty 
often  leads  rash  men  to  overlook  entirely  the  difficulties  — 
perhaps  much  greater  —  •which  may  lie  on  the  opposite  side. 
In  the  case,  however,  of  those  who  reject  all  belief  in  tlie 
existence  or  agency  of  evil  spirits,  they  do  not  even  go  one 
step  towards  removing  or  lessening  the  difficulty.     The  per- 
mission of  evil  spirits  is  only  one  branch  of  that  great  and 
insuperable  difficulty — the  permission  of  evil  in  the  universe. 
The  difficulty  is  just  as  great  to  explain  how  aijy  evil,  how- 
ever   small,  should  exist,  as  to  explain  all  that  does  exist 
in  the  world.     The  mortifying  and  distressing  consequences, 
indeed,  of  any  evil  may  be  greater,  but  the  difficult jj  of  ex- 
plaining it,  when  that  difficulty  amounts  to  an  impossibility, 
must  be  the  same  in  one  case  as  in  another.     Hence  total 
impossibility  does  not  admit  of  different  degrees,  the  smallest 
amount  of  misery  and  the  greatest  are  equally  inexplicable. 
All  that  we  can  say  is,  that  for  some  unknown  cause  evil  is 
unavoidable :    and  that  being  the  case,  it  would   be   folly 
to  set  li7nits  to  the  operation  of  an  unknoivn  cause,  or  to 
wonder  at  one  of  its  effects  more  tlian  at  another.     Surely 
there  is  no  greater  difficulty — great  tliougli  it  undoubtedly  is 
— in  the  permission  of  evil  spirits  than  of  evil  men.     For  in- 
stance, that  so  many  should  be  sold  as  slaves,  and  often  to 
tyrannical  masters,  is  as  hard  to  explain,  as  that  any  one 
should   have   been   exposed   to   any   kind   of  affliction  from 
demons.     \Vc  need  not  wonder  that  an  evil  being  —  whether 
man  or  demon — should  endeavour  to  degrade  others  into  his 
own  condition,  but  that  either  should  be  permitted  to  succeed, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOl'IITIIEGMS.  359 

is  a  difficulty  we  cannot  at  all  explain,  though  yet  no  greater 
ill  tlic  one  case  than  in  the  other. 

And  yet,  obvious  as  this  is,  the  principal  person  in  a  tale 
by  an  author  of  considerable  repute,  is  represented  as  being 
at  length  convinced  of  the  non-existence  of  evil  demons  by 
the  argument,  that  God  would  never  permit  any  evil  being  to 
have  power  to  molest  mankind  ;  and  tliis  argument  is  repre- 
sented as  being  urged  —  and  successfully  urged  —  while  a 
pirate-ship  Avas  actually  in  sight,  the  crew  of  which  had  just 
been  ravaging  the  country,  and  committing  all  kinds  of 
atrocities !  The  speaker  and  the  hearer  of  the  argument 
are  represented  as  having  this  before  their  very  eyes,  and 
yet  without  perceiving  that  it  completely  refuted  what  was 
urged  !  Whatever,  therefore,  any  one  may  decide  as  to  the 
actual  existence  of  evil  spirits,  this  particular  objection  to  it 
must  completely  fall  to  the  ground ;  since  it  is  an  objection 
which  lies  equally  against  what  every  one  knows  to  be  true. 
If  we  suppose  some  happy  Avorld  far  distant  from  our  own, 
in  which  sin  and  suffering  have  always  been  wholly  unknown, 
and  if  the  inhabitants  of  such  a  world  were  to  doubt  the 
possible  existence  of  either  bad  spirits  or  bad  men,  there 
wovdd,  in  this,  be  nothing  very  absurd.  But  for  those  who 
have  the  experience  of  the  various  evils  produced  by  bad 
men,  to  deny  the  possibility  of  any  oilier  evil  beings,  as  a 
thing  which  could  never  have  been  permitted,  is  an  absurdity 
which,  to  be  refuted,  needs  only  to  be  plainly  stated. 

Though  an  enquiry  why  evil-spirits  exist  would  be  fruit- 
less and  presumptuous,  an  enquiry  Avhy  it  was  made  h7iown 
to  us  in  Scripture  may  be  both  allowable  and  profitable. 
Whether  anything  be  made  known  or  not  concerning  the  ex- 
istence of  evil-spirits  makes  indeed  no  difference  as  to  the 
difficulty  of  explaining  the  existence  of  evil, — but  it  may 


300  MISCELLANEOUS   ABOPIITIIEGMS. 

make  a  great  tliffercnco  as  to  the  avoiding  of  evil.     And  ilie 
great  object  of  Scripture-revelations  throughout,  seems  to  be 
to  assist  us  not  in  accounting  for    evil,  but  in  escaping  it. 
Now  I  would   appeal   to   the   feelings  of   any  right-minded 
man,  whether  the  greater  dread  and  detestation  of  sin  is  not 
likely  to  be  produced    by  our  being  plainly  informed  that 
there  are  evil-spirits  striving  to  seduce  and  deceive  —  or  to 
urf^e  ami  drive  us  into  rebellion  against  God  —  "whether  we 
are   not  so    constituted,   as  to    be    more  watchfully  careful 
asiainst  being  ovei'-reached  and  deceived  \>y  -a  personal  enemy 
than  against  any  other  kind  of  temptation  —  more  zealously 
active  in  resisting  the  attacks   of  a  living  being  who  seeks 
our  destruction  than  in  counteracting  our  own  inclinations. 
It  is  true  that  the  thought  of  being  given  up  to  the  base  and 
brutish  propensities  of  the  meaner  portion  of  man's  nature 
— of  losing  the  proper  dignity  of  a  rational  being  —  of  for- 
getting God  and  living  as  strangers  and  aliens  before  Ilim 
— and  of  forgetting  immortal  happiness, — all  this  is  indeed 
very  shocking  to  a  well-disposed  mind,  but  yet  not  so  horri- 
ble and  appalling  as  the  thought  of  being  ruled  over  and 
directed  by  an  evil  spirit  —  of  cherishing  in  our  bosom  the 
great  enemy  of  mankind,   or  agents  of  his,  who  hate  both 
God  and  us,  and  who  are  busied  in  preparing  men  to  share 
in  their  final  ruin.     Now  the  very  unpleasantness  of  these 
thoughts,  which  is  perhaps  what  has  led  some  men  to  deny 
the  agency   of   evil  spirits  altogether,   and    to    explain  the 
Scripture  language  as  a  mere  personification  of  moral  evil,  is 
the  reason  why  God  has  revealed  it.      lie  would  not  have 
taught  us  the  existence  of  Satan  and  his  angels  merely  to 
alarm  us,  if  it  had  not  been  true :  but,  it  being  true,  it  is  in 
His  mercg  He  has  set  before  us  all  the  horrible  reality,  that 
we  may  be  the  more  active  and  resolute  in  seeking  to  escape 
and  to  guard  against  such  an  enemy.     He  knows  that  there 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  361 

is  a  kind  of  ardour  and  energy  infused  into  tlie  human 
breast  by  the  thought  of  a  contest  with  an  enemy ;  not  with 
a  mere  thing,  but  a  person  —  an  active  being,  Avho  hates  us, 
and  who  seeks  our  destruction,  but  whom  God  has  given  us 
power  to  resist,  if  we  contend  firmly  ;  and  over  whom  we 
shall  finally  triumph,  under  the  banner  of  our  great  leader, 
Christ,  if  we  are  not  wanting  in  our  own  defence. 

It  is  well  known  how  common  it  is  to  find  Satan  and  his 
angels,  and  everything  connected  with  them,  including  the 
"everlasting  fire  prepared"  for  them,  and  for  those  who  are 
seduced  by  them,  considered  as  something  ludicrous,  as 
something  that  can  hardly  be  mentioned  or  alluded  to  with 
gravity,  as  something  that  not  only  excites  mirth  when  inci- 
dentally referred  to,  but  is  even  frequently  forced  in,  for 
the  joke's  sake,  and  made  to  furnish  a  subject  for  pleasantry. 

Now  surely  this  is  a  remarkable  and  a  strange  thing ;  for 
generally  speaking,  right-minded  persons — all  who  have  any 
pure  sentiments  and  delicacy  of  taste  —  are  accustomed  to 
regard  wickedness  and  misery  as  most  unfit  subjects  for 
jesting.  They  would  be  shocked  at  any  one  Avho  should  find 
amusement  in  the  ravages  and  slaughter  perpetrated  by  a 
licentious  soldiery  in  a  conquered  country ;  or  in  the  linger- 
ing tortures  inflicted  by  Avild  Indians  on  their  prisoners  ;  or 
in  the  burning  of  heretics  under  the  Inquisition.  Nay,  the 
very  Inquisitors  themselves,  who  have  thought  it  their  duty  to 
practise  such  cruelties,  would  have  been  ashamed  to  be 
thought  so  brutal  as  to  regard  the  sufterings  of  their  victims 
as  a  subject  of  mirth.  And  any  one  who  should  treat  as  a 
jest  the  crimes  and  cruelties  of  the  French  Revolution,  wouli.*^ 
generall}^  be  deemed  more  depraved  than  even  the  perpetra- 
tors themselves. 

Yet  so  it  is,  that  tlie  wickedness,  and  the  misery,  past  and 
31 


362  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

future,  of  evil  spirits,  and  of  such  of  our  fellow-creatures  as 
arc  seduced  by  them,  are  commonly  treated  as  a  jest ! 

Now  suppose  a  rational  being  —  an  inhabitant  of  some 
other  planet  —  could  visit  this  our  eartli,  and  witness  the 
gaiety  of  heart  with  which  Satan  and  his  agents,  and  his 
victims,  and  the  dreadful  doom  reserved  for  them,  and 
everything  relating  to  the  subject,  are,  by  many  persons, 
talked  of  and  laughed  at,  and  resorted  to  as  a  source  of 
amusement,  what  inference  would  he  be  likely  to  draw  ? 

Doubtless  he  would,  at  fii-st,  conclude  that  no  one  believed 
anything  of  all  this,  but  that  we  regarded  the  whole  as  a 
string  of  fables,  like  the  heathen  mythology,  or  the  nursery- 
tales  of  fairies  and  enchanters,  Avhich  arc  told  to  amuse 
children.  But  when  he  came  to  learn  that  tliese  things  are 
not  only  true,  but  are  actually  believed  by  the  far  greater 
part  of  those  who,  nevertheless,  treat  them  as  a  subject  of 
mirth,  what  would  he  think  of  us  then  ?  He  would  surely 
regard  this  as  a  most  astounding  proof  of  the  great  art,  and 
of  the  great  influence  of  that  Evil  Being  who  can  have  so 
far  blinded  men's  understandings,  and  so  depraved  their 
moral  sentiments,  and  so  hardened  their  hearts,  as  to  lead 
them,  not  merely  to  regard  with  careless  apathy  their 
spiritual  Enemy,  and  the  dangers  they  are  exposed  to  from 
him,  and  the  final  ruin  of  his  victims,  but  even  to  find 
amusement  in  a  subject  of  such  surpassing  horror,  and  to 
introduce  allusions  to  it  by  way  of  a  jest ! 

}»Iay  tlie  Holy  Spirit  implant  in  us  all  a  more  Christian 
temper  of  niind,  and  more  sober  and  rational  thoughts,,  and 
more  humane  and  purer  sentiments  !  May  He  deliver  us 
from  all  those  superstititious  delusions  with  which  the  great 
Enemy  of  Man  seeks  to  mislead  us,  and  to  turn  our  atten- 
tion from  real  dangers,  to  false  and  imaginary  alarms  !  And 
may  we  have  grace  to  "watch  and  pray"  as  we  have  need  to 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  363 

do,  "that  "we  enter  not  into  temptation:"  to  watch  in  the 
right  phice,  and  to  pray  to  that  all-powerful  spiritual  Friend, 
who  alone  is  able  to  deliver  and  to  guard  us  in  every  spiritual 
danger,  and  who  has  promised  to  be  at  hand  to  all  who 
earnestly  seek  Ilim ! 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  our  spiritual  Adversary  will 
always  present  the  same  temptation  again  and  again  in  the 
same  shape  ;  even  beasts  of  prey  have  more  sagacity  than  to 
lurk  always  in  the  same  spot  of  the  same  thicket. 

The  temptations  of  Satan  are  to  be  detected  by  their 
character  —  were  he  to  appear  in  his  proper  person,  the 
te77iptati07i  yYonld  be  recognized  by  the  tempter  —  the  fruits 
by  the  tree ;  but  in  the  temptations  which  actually  occur, 
the  tempter  is  to  be  recognized  by  the  temptation,  —  the  tree 
by  its  fruits. 

It  is  remarkable  that  it  was  about  the  time  of  the  Re- 
deemer's coming,  that  men  were  most  familiar  with  the  fact 
of  the  agency  of  Satan  and  his  angels.  But  it  was  necessary 
to  display  His  superiority  over  moral  evil,  as  over  physical, 
by  a  sensible  and  perceptible  victory,  not  only  over  disease 
and  death,  but  also  over  "him  who  had  the  power  of  death," 
in  short,  by  exhibiting  "  the  seed  of  the  woman"  bruising 
the  serpent's  head.  Hence,  we  may  suppose  it  was,  that 
the  great  Enemy  was  permitted,  at  that  time  more  especially, 
to  exercise  a  direct,  perceptible,  and  acknowledged  agency, 
in  order  to  render  his  defeat  the  more  conspicuous ;  that  we 
might,  as  it  were,  behold  him  "  like  lightning  fall  from 
heaven."  And  He  who  for  our  sake  encountered  and  van- 
quished him,  is  now  ready  and  "  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most, all  that  come  unto  God  by  Him." 


364  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTIIEOMS. 

In  the  Old  Testament  history,  the  angels  that  are  mentioned 
as  appearing  are  generally  not  created  persons,  but  immediate 
manifestations  of  the  Lord  Himself,  even  in  those  places  in 
which  the  human  form  is  assumed ;  so  that  the  expressions, 
"the  Lord,"  and  "the  Angel  of  tlie  Lord,"  are  used  indis- 
criminately ;  and  accordingly,  in  most  of  these  passages,  you 
read  of  divine  tvorshijj  being  oflfercd  and  accepted.  To  the 
angels,  on  the  contrary,  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  — 
the  ministering  spirits  recorded  as  appearing — divine  worship 
either  is  not  oifered,  or  is  carefully  rejected.  "  Sec  thou  do 
it  not!"  says  the  angel  to  John  in  the  Book  of  llevelation ; 
"for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant."  It  is  important  to  observe 
that  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  such  worship  was 
accepted. 

Almighty  God  has  revealed  Himself  as  the  proper  object 
of  religion  —  as  the  one  only  power  on  whom  we  are  to  feel 
ourselves  continually  dependent  for  all  things,  and  the  one 
only  Being  whose  favour  we  are  continually  to  seek  ;  and, 
lest  we  should  complain  that  an  infinite  Being  is  an  object 
too  remote  and  incomprehensible  for  our  minds  to  dwell  upon, 
He  has  manifested  himself  in  his  Son,  the  man  Jesus  Christ, 
so  that  to  love,  fear,  honour,  and  serve  Jesus  Christ,  is  to 
love,  fear,  honour,  and  serve  Almighty  God :  Jesus  Christ 
being  "  one  with  the  Father,"  and  "all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead"  dwelling  in  Him. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  Gospel  John  tells  us,  "  God,  no  man 
hath  seen  at  any  time ;  the  only  begotten  Son,  which  is  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."  Now, 
the  declaration  which  John  here  speaks  of,  cannot  be  under- 
stood as  merely  an  authoritative  announcement  of  God's  will, 
such  as  was  made  by  the  pruphets,  because  the  context  ovi- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  365 

dently  sho-ws  that  ho  is  speaking  of  something  peculiar  to 
the  only  begotten  Son ;  ksTvog  s^riyoauTo :  It  is  lie  that  hath 
dedared  Him:"  this  declaration  therefore  does  not  refer  to 
a  mere  message  sent  from  God,  but  to  a  manifestation  of  God 
himself  in  Jesus  Christ :  which  the  Apostle  has  just  described 
by  saying,  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among 
us  ;"  and  which  another  Apostle,  Paul,  describes  by  saying, 
"  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh ;"  and  again,  Christ  was 
"  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person."  Again,  the  same  Apostle  says  of  Him,  "Who  is 
over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever;"  and  besides  Thomas's  con- 
fession, and  St.  Jude's  expression,  "  The  only  wise  God  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,"  we  have  the  form  of  words  proscribed 
to  be  used  in  baptism,  which  even  alone  are  of  irresistible 
Aveight.  But  not  to  multiply  quotations,  I  only  add  that  we 
have  the  prophetic  title  of  "  Immanuel,  God  with  us  ;"  which, 
if  it  had  been  meant  of  mere  inspiration,  would  have  been 
no  mark  of  distinction  for  the  Messiah,  but  would  have  been 
equally  applicable  to  all  the  prophets,  and  which  not  apply- 
ing to  his  name,  must  have  applied  to  his  nature. 

Jesus  was  tried,  in  the  first  place  before  the  Jewish  Sanhe- 
drim, and  was  found  guilty  of  blasphemy,  because  He  con- 
fessed himself  "the  Son  of  the  living  God."  By  this  title 
the  Jews  understood  Him  to  claim  a  divine  character,  and 
upon  his  own  confession  they  adjudged  Him  worthy  of  death. 
Unless,  therefore,  we  conceive  Him  capable  of  knowingly 
promoting  idolatry,  —  unless  we  can  consider  Jesus  himself 
as  either  an  insane  fanatic  or  a  deliberate  impostor  claiming 
divine  honor  not  belonging  to  Him,  —  unless  wo  come  to  a 
conclusion  involving  a  difficulty  so  revolting  to  all  notions  of 
Divine  purity  and  indeed  of  common  morality,  that  all  diffi- 
culties on  the  opposite  side  are  as  nothing,  we  must  assign  to 
31* 


366  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPUTHEGMS. 

Him  "the  Autlior  and  Finisher  of  our  Faith,"  the  only  be^- 
gottcn  Son  of  God,  who  is  one  Avith  the  Father, — that  divine 
character  which  He  and  his  apostles  so  distinctly  claimed  for 
Ilini ;  and  acknowledge  that  "God"  truly  "was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself."  In  short,  if  we  would 
believe  in  Ilira  at  all,  we  must  believe  in  Him  as  perfect  God 
no  less  than  perfect  man. 

The  same  revolting  difficulty  is  involved  if  we  suppose  our 
Lord  to  have  received,  without  any  attempt  to  undeceive  him, 
Thomas's  confession  of  faith  in  his  divine  nature,  for  that 
the  words  "my  Lord  and  my  God"  were  an  ascription  of 
Deity,  and  not  a  mere  exclamation  of  surprise,  is  evident 
both  from  the  original  Greek  (which  is,  literally,  the  Lord 
of  me,  and  the  God  of  me)  and  from  our  Lord's  answer  to 
liim. 

So  fully  did  the  Jews  understand  Jesus  to  claim  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  in  a  sense  so  peculiar  as  to  make  them  charge 
him  Avith  making  himself  "  equal  with  God,"  that  not  only 
did  they  take  up  stones  to  cast  at  him  for  making  himself 
God,  being  a  man,  but  it  was  on  this  very  claim  He  was 
condemned.  As  soon  as  He  acknowledged  Himself  to  be 
"  the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  His  judges  cried  "  What  need 
we  any  farther  witness  ?  we  ourselves  have  heard  of  his  own 
mouth,"  and  immediately,  they  pronounced  Him  guilty  of 
death.  And  it  is  Avortliy  of  remark,  that  his  beiiig  thus 
convicted  on  his  own  testimony  alone,  was  perhaps  in  order 
to  fulfil  more  emphatically  his  own  declaration — "  No  man 
taketh  my  life  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself;  I  have 
power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again." 

When  the  disciples  were  censured  for  rubbing  out  the 
grains  of  corn  on  the  Sabbath,  the  Lord's  defence  of  them 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  367 

plainly  turns  on  His  own  especial  and  divine  authority.  He 
alludes  to  the  case  of  David  and  his  companions,  who  ate, 
not  without  the  permission  of  the  Priest,  the  show-bread, 
which  it  was  not  lawful  for  any  but  the  priests  to  eat.  This 
was,  1st,  tacitly  acknowledging  that  the  act  of  His  disciples 
was,  in  itself,  as  unlawful  as  the  eating  of  the  show-bread  by 
any  but  a  priest ;  2ndly,  it  was  claiming  for  Himself,  at  least 
equal  authority  with  the  priest,  who  dispensed  with  the  rule 
in  David's  favour  ;  ord,  it  was  claiming  rather  7nore  authority  ; 
because  there  was  not,  in  this  case,  as  in  David's,  the  plea  of 
urgent  necessity.  But  then,  he  proceeds  to  compare  this 
case  with  that  of  the  "priests  in  the  temple,"  who  were 
permitted  to  profane  the  Sabbath,  by  doing  the  necessary 
work  for  the  Temple-service :  now,  this  could  not  mean  that 
the  example  of  the  priests  in  the  temple  authorized  all  men 
to  go  about  their  ordinary  business  on  the  Sabbath  ;  but  that 
example  did  apply  to  the  disciples  who  were  occupied  in 
ministering  to  Him  who  was  Himself  the  Temple,  in  whom 
"all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt"  (Mark  ii.  23—28; 
Matt.  xii.  6)  ;  and  who,  on  another  occasion,  to  Avhicli  I  con- 
ceive He  was  in  this  place  alluding,  claims  for  Himself  the 
very  title  of  the  "  Temple  "  (John  ii.  19—22).  Lastly,  He 
declares  that  the  "  Son  of  Man  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  inas- 
much as  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath. 

On  this  passage,  which  has  often  been  but  indistinctly 
understood,  it  may  be  remarked,  1st,  that  it  implies  an  actual 
violation  of  the  Sabbath ;  else  it  would  have  been  needless 
to  plead  a  supreme  poiver  over  that  ordinance  :  2ndly,  that  it 
not  only  cannot  imply  that  any  other  man  had  a  similar 
dispensing  powxr,  but  implies  the  very  reverse ;  else  it  would 
have  been  nugatory  to  claim  for  the  ">S'o7i  of  3Ian  "  (the  title 
by  which  Jesus  distinguished  Himself)  a  power  which  others 


368  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

might  equally  claim  :  ^rdly,  tliat  these  are  not  (as  some  have 
ropicsentcil)  tAvo  distinct  remarks,  but  stand  in  the  relation 
ot"  Premiss  and  Conclusion  ;  "  the  Sabbath  "vvas  made  for  man, 
and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath  ;  therefore  the  Son  of  Man  is 
Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."  He  evidently  means  that  though 
lie  made  no  pretensions  to  a  dispensing  power  in  respect  of 
Wio;'aZ  duties  (man  being  made  for  them),  positive  ordinances, 
on  the  contrary,  being  "  made  for  man  "  (/.  e.,  designed  as 
means  —  often  as  local  or  temporary  means  —  to  facilitate 
man's  improvement),  might  be  dispensed  with,  or  abrogated 
by,  the  same  authority  which  established  them  ;  viz.,  by  the 
divine  authority  which  he  claimed.  The  reasoning,  at  full 
length,  and  stated  regularly,  will  stand  thus  : — "Any  positive 
ordinance  {i.  e.,  one  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  it)  may 
be  dispensed  with  by  my  {divine)  authority :  the  Sabbath  is 
such  an  ordinance  ;  therefore  the  Sabbath  may  be  dispensed 
with  by  my  authority." 

Christ's  being  very  often,  and  pointcdhj,  spoken  of  as  a 
man,  has  been  urged  as  an  argument  that  lie  Avas  no  more 
than  man;  whereas  it  is  a  very  strong  confirmation  of  the 
arguments  on  the  very  opposite  side ;  for  if  Christ  were  but 
a  man,  and  if  nobody  had  ever  supposed  Ilim  divine,  what 
need  could  an  Apostle  have  to  insist  on  His  humanity  any 
more  than  on  his  own,  or  any  one's  else  ?  but  if  all  readily 
believed  that  Christ  was  divine,  it  then  became  important  to 
enforce  the  belief  that  He  was  a  vian.  Indeed  it  appears  to 
have  been  a  very  early  error  to  maintain  that  Christ  was  a 
man  in  appearance  only,  and  his  body  a  pliantom.  Hence 
St.  John  makes  it  a  test  of  ortliodoxy  to  confess  that  "  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flcsli,"  but  if  they  were  mistalcen  in 
thinking    Christ  divine    they  wouUl   surely  have    been  told 


MISCELLANEOUS   AP0PIITIIEG3IS.  3G0 

expressly  that  lie  yy as  oiot ;  since  to  tell  thorn  merely  that 
lie  was  human,  was  manifestly  insufficient  to  disabuse  them. 

The  Apostles  do  indeed  direct  our  worship  exclusively  to 
God  ;  but  to  "  God  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
Himself;"  nor  do  they  dwell  on  the  necessity  of  making  in 
our  devotions,  any  mental  separation  of  the  two  natures  of 
that  person  who  is  the  object  of  our  worship.  They  addressed 
their  prayers  to  a  being  whom  they  regarded  as  both  divine 
and  human;  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus,"  in  whom  "  dwelleth  " 
(not  some  emanation  or  portion  of  the  Deity,  but)  "  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  They  addressed  Ilim  in 
their  Avorship  by  his  human  name,  as  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit."  Nor  could  they,  indeed,  have  invoked  him  as 
their  intercessor  and  mediator,  by  virtue  of  his  meritorious 
sacrifice,  keeping  out  of  their  minds  the  human  nature  which 
those  offices  imply.  Observe  how,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  Paul  presents  to  our  view  the  divine  and  the  human 
attributes  of  our  Saviour  almost  simultaneously ;  "  in  whom," 
says  he,  "  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the 
forgiveness  of  sins;  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God, 
the  first  born  of  every  creature,  (■ffpuroroxoc:  -ratfTic;  xtiVswj,  born 
before  all  creatures)  for  bi/  Him  were  all  thin(js  created,  that 
are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible." 
(Col.  i.  14,  15,  16.)  That  the  notions  conveyed  by  such 
expressions  to  a  plain  reader  are  pliilosophically  correct,  I 
will  not  undertake  to  maintain  :  it  is  sufficient  that  they  are 
Scriptural.  And  the  Scriptures  being  designed,  by  unerring 
wisdom,  for  the  instruction  of  the  simple  unphilosophical 
minds  of  the  mass  of  mankind,  differ  in  this  important  respect 
from  any  philosophical  treatise;  that  while  the  latter  is  liable 
to  be  utterly  mit;undcrstood  by  those  destitute  of  the  advan- 
tages of  education  and  learning,  they  cannot,  though  they 


370  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTnEGMS. 

may  contain  passages  not  intelligible  to  tlio  unlearned,  bo 
calculated  to  mislead  them  as  to  important  matters,  by  con- 
veying to  their  minds  an  obvious  sense  which  yet  shall  not 
be  the  true  one. 

This  consideration  the  Socinians  appear  to  have  always 
overlooked.  Finding  that  this  or  that  text  may  possibly  be 
so  explained  as  to  avoid  the  obnoxious  doctrine,  they  try 
another,  and  finding  that  tliis  aho  may  be  explained  away, 
they  so  go  through  them  all ;  not  considering  how  immensely 
the  improbability  is  multiplied,  of  such  a  series  of  texts,  — 
such  a  chain  of  testimony  —  being  all  to  be  understood,  ac- 
cording to  a  forced  interpretation,  and  not  according  to  the 
obvious  sense.  If  I  have  to  make  one  hundred  throws  with 
dice,  it  is  not  very  improbable  that  I  may  throw  sixes  the 
first  time,  nor  is  it  very  improbable  that  I  may  the  second 
time  ;  and  so  on,  of  any  other  single  throw  :  but  who  would 
infer  from  thence  that  it  is  not  improbable  I  may  tlirow  sixes 
one  hundred  times  running  ?  which  every  one  will  allow  to 
be  a  moral  impossibility.  At  the  best  they  will  have  made 
out  the  Sacred  Writers  to  be  laying  a  snare  for  their  readers. 
Even  admitting  that  every  passage  in  Scripture  would,  con- 
sidered in  itself,  bear  their  interpretation,  still  if  the  simple 
and  obvious  meaning  to  plain  readers  be  the  reverse  of  the 
truth,  how  can  the  Scriptures  convey  a  revelation  ?  If,  as 
they  contend,  the  worship  of  Christ  be  idolatry,  must  not  the 
Scriptures  themselves  be  charged  with  leading  ordinary 
Christians  into  idolatry  ? 

To  explain  the  atonement  of  Christ  I  do  not  pretend ;  but 
as  for  the  fact,  I  cannot  conceive  how  a  man  can  doubt  it 
who  really  believes  the  Scriptures,  and  searches  them  with  a 
candid  mind,  without  any  predetermination  to  believe  nothing 
but  what  he  can    understand.     To  quote  every  passage  in 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  371 

•which  this    doctrine  is    stated  and  alhidcd  to,  "would  be  to 
transcribe  the  bulk  of  the  Sacred  Writings. 

He  was  the  begotten  of  his  Father  from  all  eternity,  as 
He  was  our  Redeemer  from  all  eternity  ;  (whence  He  is  called 
"  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world")  for  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  not  with  God,  as  with  us, 
a  distinction  of  jJ^ist,  present,  and  future  ;  but  all  things  are 
eternally  and  simultaneously  present  to  the  divine  mind ; 
hence  the  name  of  God  is  I  AM  (Jehovah),  and  hence  Christ 
says,  (not  that  He  loas  from  all  eternity,  but)  "  before 
Abraham  was,  I  am." 

We  can  comprehend  this  eternal  presence  of  all  things 
only  as  we  can  the  divine  nature  in  general ;  i.  e.,  by  nega- 
tives :  e.  g.,  all  that  we  can  comprehend  of  eternitt/  is,  that 
it  has  no  beginning,  and  no  end  :  in  like  manner,  as  all  our 
idea  of  duration  is  derived  from  the  succession  of  ideas,  [vide 
Locke,)  which  a  being  perfectly  omniscient  cannot  have,  we 
are  led  by  the  feeble  glimmer  of  reason,  as  well  as  by  Scrip- 
ture, to  conclude  that  with  God  there  can  be  no  distinction 
of  past,  present,  or  future ;  and  that  is  all  we  know  or  can 
conceive  about  it. 

Li  treating  of  the  Trinity,  I  wish  hypostasis  had  been  used 
instead  of  person,  because  it  would  have  conveyed  none  but 
the  right  sense.  Person,  in  its  ordinary  sense,  always  implies 
a  distinct  substance ;  in  its  theological  sense,  it  is  a  literal, 
or  rather,  perhaps,  an  etymological  translation  of  the  Latin 
word  persona,  which  has  not  that  meaning,  and  is  applied  by 
the  Church  to  express  the  distinction  which  she  affirms  to 
exist  between  Those  whose  identity  of  substance  she  exijx'cssly 
maintains. 


372  MISCl-LLANEOrS     APOPHTHEGMS. 

God  is  in  a  certain  sense  one,  and  in  a  certain  sense  three, 
and  tlic  Apostles  were  commanded  to  baptize  in  the  name  of 
tlic  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  because  no  man 
can  be  a  Christian,  unless  lie  not  only  acknowledge  God,  but 
acknowledge  Ilim,  1st,  in  his  siinply  divine  nature,  and  as 
the  Creator  of  the  world  who  sent  into  the  world  that  hc'iu^i, 
of  two  natures,  Jesus  Christ ;  2ndly,  as  united  with  the  human 
nature  in  that  very  being  who  redeemed  and  who  intercedes 
for  us  ;  and  ordly,  as  entering  into,  sanctifying,  and  other- 
wise spiritually  operating  upon  his  creatures. 

The  circumstance,  that  the  first  Christian  writers  neither 
mentioned  the  Trinity  nor  alluded  to  any  hard  or  revolting 
mystery  in  that  point,  from  which,  in  after  ages,  arose  so 
mueh  difficulty,  controversy,  and  schism,  is  briefly  and 
readily  accounted  for  by  the  Socinians,  by  their  denying 
that  the  Apostles  taught  any  such  doctrine  ;  but  this  is  to 
remove  one  difficulty  by  raising  another  much  greater ;  for 
on  this  hypothesis  we  must  suppose  that  the  disciples  baptized 
in  the  name  of  God,  of  a  tnan,  and  of  a  quality/  or  operation  ; 
and  that  both  they  and  Christ  Himself  applied  to  a  mere 
man  many  attributes  of  the  Deity ;  or  at  least  said  enough 
to  put  their  converts  (whom  they  never  cautioned  on  this 
head)  in  great  danger  of  attributing  divinity  to  one  who  was 
really  but  a  man  ;  conclusions  so  revolting  that  it  is  wonder- 
ful liuw  a  candid  mind  can  submit  to  them. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  (which  is,  perhaps,  tlie 
oftenest  of  any  treated  as  a  speculative  truth,  about  which 
none  but  learned  divines  need  troubles  themselves,)  as  it  is  a 
sunnnary  of  that  faith  into  which  we  arc  baptized,  and  the 
key-stone  of  the  Christian  system,  ought  to  be  set  forth  con- 
tinually and  universally,  as  the  su])j)ort  of  every  part  of  the 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  373 

building  of  tlio  Christian  faitli,  and  the  Christian  life ; 
reference  should  be  made  to  it,  not  merely  on  some  stated 
solemn  occasions,  as  to  an  abstruse  tenet  to  be  assented  to, 
and  then  laid  aside,  but  perpctuall}'^,  as  to  a  practical 
doctrine,  connected  with  every  other  point  of  religious  belief 
and  conduct,  and  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  faith,  and 
hope,  and  love. 

As  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  may  be  considered  as 
containing  a  summary  and  compendium  of  the  Christian 
faith,  so  its  application  may  be  regarded  as  a  summary  of 
Christian  practice.  As  we  believe  God  to  stand  in  these 
relations  to  us,  we  also  must  j^ractically  keep  in  view  the 
three  corresponding  relations  in  which,  as  is  plainly  implied 
by  that  doctrine,  we  stand  toivards  Him ;  as,  first,  the 
children  of  God  ;  and  "  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God, 
and  joint-heirs  with  Christ,"  by  adoption:  secondly,  as  the 
redeemed  people  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  purchased  to 
Himself  for  His  service ;  and  thirdly,  as  being  "  the  temple 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  our  Sanctifier,  remembering  that  "if 
any  one  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  will  God  destroy." 
This  threefold  relation  kept  before  us,  in  heart  and  life,  we 
shall  find  in  God  a  Father,  a  Saviour,  and  a  Comforter,  now 
and  for  ever. 

It  is  a  common  error  to  acknowledge  in  general  terms,  the 
necessity  of  the  ordinary  operation  of  the  Spirit,  but  to 
explain  them  away  in  each  particular  case ;  thus  completely 
nullifying  the  doctrine  of  spiritual  influence. 

Redemption  by  Christ,  and  the  other  doctrines  immediately 
connected  with  this,  are  exposed  to  be  rejected,  from  their 
being  by  no  means  flattering  to  the  pride  of  human  nature. 
Men  are  apt  to  be  prejudiced  against  them,  from  wishing  to 
believe  only  such  truths  as  their  own  reason  can  discover, 
32 


374  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

and  to  be  saved  solely  by  their  own  merits ;  and  especially 
is  this  prejudice  the  besetting  sin  of  men  -whose  reason  is 
cultivated,  and  ■\vho  are  free  from  the  propensity  to  gross 
vices.  Some  such  men  bring  themselves  to  withstand  the 
evidence  of  Christianity ;  others  think  it  easier  (thougli  both 
are,  in  truth,  equally  hard)  to  explain  moay  those  doctrines 
they  object  to;  and  which  are,  in  reality,  all  that  make  the 
essential  difference  between  Christianity  and  Infidelity.  But 
I  would  not  attribute  this  temper  to  all  Socinians,  many  of 
whom,  I  trust,  would  scorn  the  uncandid  artifices  and  gross 
cheats  (such  as,  I  believe,  were  never  exceeded  in  any  con- 
troversy) by  which  too  many  of  their  leaders  seek  to  main- 
tain their  cause.  And  many  Socinians  have,  I  am  convinced, 
been  scared  from  belief  by  the  harsh,  revolting,  self-contra- 
dictory statements,  the  dogmatical  violence,  and  the  futile 
explanations,  into  which  too  many  of  the  orthodox  have 
fallen.  It  should  be  remembered,  among  other  things,  that 
a  professed  exiAanation  may  always  be  fairly  objected  to,  if 
unintelligible  ;  not  so,  if  you  keep  to  the  words  of  Scripture^ 
for  what  we  cannot  comprehend  may  nevertheless  be  true, 
and  must  be,  if  God  has  expressly  revealed  it. 

To  have  ascertained,  and  to  perceive  a  reason  for  anything 
that  God  has  done,  is  far  different  from  perceiving  the 
reason  ;  tliough  the  two  are  often  confounded.  We  are  sure 
that  the  sun  gives  light  and  heat  to  the  world ;  and  many 
ignorant  savages,  perhaps,  conclude  from  thence,  that  it  was 
created  for  no  other  purpose ;  doubtless  we  are  as  mucli 
called  on  for  gratitude  as  if  the  case  were  so ;  but  we  are 
Avell  assured  that  many  other  planets  partake  of  the  same 
advantages,  and  we  should  be  very  much  to  blame,  were  wo 
to  conclude  positively  that  even  this  is  the  only,  or  indeed 
the  principal,  purpose  for  which  the  sun  was  created.     So, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  375 

■whatever  benefits  to  mankind  wc  may  perceive  from  the 
manifestation  of  God  in  the  flesh,  we  have  no  right  to  infer 
that  there  may  not  be  other,  and  even  greater  objects  effected 
by  it,  of  which,  for  the  present  at  least,  we  must  remain 
ignorant. 

If,  with  due  reverence,  we  enquire — not,  why  the  incarna- 
tion of  God  in  Christ  was  necessary — an  enquiry  both  fruit- 
less and  presumptuous,  —  but  (as  what  it  cannot  but  behove 
us  to  know)  why  He  thought  fit  to  reveal  this  incarnation,  to 
announce  Himself  as  the  eternal  "Word  made  flesh,"'  we 
shall  find  good  reason  for  concluding  that  it  was,  in  part  at 
least,  for  tAvo  purposes  most  important  to  mankind ;  first,  by 
a  softened  and  endearing,  as  well  as  impressive,  manifesta- 
tion of  the  Deity,  to  aid  and  exalt  our  piety,  engaging  our 
affections  in  the  cause  of  religion ;  and  secondly,  by  a  briglit 
example  of  superhuman  virtue,  seconded  by  the  promise  of 
spiritual  aid,  to  instruct  and  encourage  us  in  our  duty  —  to 
illuminate  and  direct  our  Christian  course  —  to  purify  and 
elevate  our  nature.  The  one  purpose,  in  short,  may  be  said 
to  have  been  to  bring  down  God  to  man,  the  other  to  lift  up 
man  towards  God. 

Jesus  Christ,  as  "the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  de- 
clared God  to  man  by  manifesting,  as  far  as  our  feeble  facul- 
ties well  permit,  the  divine  glory,  and  shadowing  forth  the 
attributes  of  the  unsearchable  God,  exhibiting  a  more  im- 
pressive and  endearing  picture  of  them  than  we  could  in  any 
otlicr  way  attain  ;  and  thus  drawing  our  whole  heart  and 
affections  towards  Him. 

When  Christ  fed  a  multitude  with  five  loaves.  He  made  not 
indeed  a  greater,  or  a  more  benevolent  display  of  power,  than 
He  does  in  supporting,  from  day  to  day,  so  many  millions 


37G  MISCELLANEOUS   APOniTIIEGMS. 

of  men  and  other  animals  as  the  earth  contains ;  but  it  was 
an  instance  far  better  calculated  to  make  an  impression  on 
men's  minds  of  his  goodness  and  parental  care.  I  speak 
not  now  of  this  miracle  as  an  evidence  of  his  pretensions ; 
for  that  purpose  would  have  been  answered  as  well  by  a 
miracle  of  destruction ;  but  of  the  peculiar  heneficent  charac- 
ter of  it.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his  healing  the  sick, 
raising  the  dead,  and  teaching  the  people. 

Many,  it  is  true,  of  the  qualities  which  our  Lord  displayed, 
such  as  his  patience  under  provocation,  and  fortitude  against 
pain  and  danger,  are  such  as  can  belong  to  Ilim  in  his 
human  nature  alone,  and  can  present  us  but  a  very  faint 
shadow  of  the  attributes  of  God  considered  as  such ;  but  still 
these  are  attributes  of  one  and  the  same  Person,  in  whom 
we  believe  the  divine  and  human  natures  to  have  been 
united ;  though  we  can  no  more  comprehend  that  union  than 
we  can  that  of  the  human  soul  and  body ;  and  they  are  well 
fitted  to  fix  our  affections  on  that  Person. 

If,  as  is  notoriously  the  fact,  our  only  notion  of  the  divine 
attributes,  and  our  terms  for  expressing  them,  are,  and 
always  must  be,  borrowed  from  such  human  qualities  as  have 
the  most  analogy  to  them,  it  seems  to  follow  inevitably,  that 
tlie  more  excellent  man  would  give  us  ever  the  more  adequate 
notion  of  the  divine  excellence  ;  and,  consequently,  that  the 
life  of  that  Man  who  was  altogether  perfect,  by  union  Avith 
the  Godhead,  must  afford  us  the  very  best  idea  (however  im- 
perfect that  best  may  be)  that  we  can  attain  of  the  moral 
attributes  of  God. 

As  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  one  purpose  of  the  re- 
velation of  the  stupendous  work  of  the  incarnation  to  bring 
down  God  to  man ;  so  we  have  reason  to  conclude  another 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  377 

purpose  to  have  been  to  lift  up  man  to  God,  by  exhibiting, 
seconded  by  the  promise  of  spiritual  aid,  a  perfect  and  ex- 
alted model  of  human  excellence,  and  proposing  it  for  our 
imitation. 

It  is  an  old  and  well-established  maxim,  that  men  learn 
better  from  example  than  from  precept.    But  the  difficulty  is 
to  find  an  example  fit  for  imitation.    Mere  human  models  are 
all,  more  or  less,  imperfect ;  and  the  faults  and  the  virtues 
of  each  individual  are,  in  general,  so  intimately  blended,  that 
there  must  always  be  a  certain  degree  of  danger  in  copying 
even    the   best   men.     And   an   ideal   model,    such   as    the 
Sapiens,  the  wise  man,  or  perfectly  good  and  happy  charac- 
terj  whom  the  Stoics  held  forth  as  a  pattern,  even  if  we  sup- 
pose it  unexceptionable,  wants,  as  ideal,  the  power  of  inspir- 
ing that  interest  and  sympathy  —  that  afiectionate  reverence 
—  that  emulation  which  a  really  existing  pePiSON  can  alone 
inspire ;  and,  being  represented  to  us  only  by  general  de- 
scription, is  but  one  short  step  removed  from  abstract  moral 
precept.     The  mode  by  which  this  difficulty  is  met  by  Chris- 
tianity, is  absolutely  peculiar  to  it.     By  it  —  and  by  it  alone 
— an  example  is  proposed  to  us,  superior  by  its  living  reality 
to   all  ideal  models   however   perfect,   and   to  all  real  but 
human  ones,  in  its  superhuman  perfection. 

If,  while  some  of  the  ancient  moralists  were  employed  in 
recounting  the  actions,  and  holding  forth  the  examples,  of 
really  existing  illustrious  men,  to  stimulate  the  emulation  of 
their  hearers,  —  and  while  others  were  pointing  out,  in  the 
grave  and  lofty  descriptions  of  the  philosopher,  or  the  vivid 
representations  of  the  poet,  an  ideal  exemplar  of  perfect  ex- 
cellence ; — a  man  exhibited,  such  as  men  should  be,  not  such 
as  they  are,  —  what  would  these  sages,  I  say,  have  thought, 

had  they  been  assured  on  sufficient  evidence  that  such  a  man 
5i9  * 


378  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTUEGMS. 

had  actually  appeared  on  earth  ;  not  having  his  virtues  tar- 
nished with  defect:?,  like  the  heroes  of  their  histories ;  not  a 
phantom  of  imagination,  like  the  persons  of  their  theatre,  or 
the  Avise  men  of  their  schools  ;  but  a  real,  living,  sublime  and 
faultless  model  of  god-like  virtue  ?     Surely  they  would  have 
acknowledged,  Avith  one  voice,   that  such  a  character,  and 
such  a  one  only,  was  exactly  suited  to  their  wishes,  and  to 
the  wants  of  their  hearers ;  if  they  were  at   all  sincere  in 
their  professions,  they  would  have  hailed  with  rapture  the 
announcement  of  his  existence ;  but  would  have  wondered  at 
the  same  time,  and  doubted,  how  human  nature  could  ever 
have  attained  this  pitch  of  excellence.     We  might  have  an- 
swered them,  human  nature  by  itself  is  indeed  far  too  weak 
for  the  task ;  but  in  Christ  the  divine  nature  was  united  to 
it ;  in  Him  "  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily ;" 
the  Deity  was  ever  present  in  an  especial  manner  to  direct 
and  support  his  human  soul ;  and  thus  presented  to  his  crea- 
tures a  perfect  pattern,  Avhich  through  the  promised  aid  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  they  may  copy ;  that  by  imitating  the 
divine  excellence,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  a  creature  to  do 
so,  we  may  become,  as  Christ  himself  expresses  it,  "  like  unto 
our  Father  Avhich  is  in  heaven,"  and  be  thus  fitted  for  enjoy- 
ing a  more  near  approach  to  his  presence  in  a  better  state ; 
that  we  also  may  be,  more    completely  than   in   this  life, 
"sons  of  God,  brethren,  and  joint-heirs  of  Christ,"  and  par- 
takers   of  his  glory.     "Beloved,"  says  the  Apostle  John, 
"  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God ;  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be ;  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear 
we  phall  be  like  unto  Him;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 
Whatever  may  be  our  station  in  life,  or  peculiar  circum- 
stances, we  shall  still  find  that  Jesus  Christ  has  "  left  us  an 
cnsample  that  we  should  follow  his  steps;"  because  the  prin- 
ciple of  devoted  obedience  to  God,  love  towards  man,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  379 

abjuration  of  all  selfish  objects,  is  one  -whicli  is  called  for, 
and  must  be  put  in  practice,  in  every  situation.  Besides 
which,  it  is  very  remarkable,  that  while  all  the  illustrious 
characters  which  are  usually  held  up  to  our  imitation,  are 
persons  who  occupied  such  exalted  stations,  that  their  lives 
afford  but  little  instruction  to  those  in  humbler  and  more 
private  situations,  (that  is,  in  fact,  to  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind,) our  Saviour's  life,  on  the  contrary,  though  he  had  so 
high  an  office  to  execute,  yet,  from  the  humble  station  in 
which  he  appeared,  contain  lessons  for  every  description  of 
mankind.  And  if  the  student's  own  heart  be  not  in  fault, 
his  character  will  not  fail  to  receive  some  tincture  from  the 
character  he  is  contemplating.  Every  Christian  who  de- 
serves the  name  makes  it  his  attentive  study ;  and  those  who 
have  learned  the  most  of  it,  are  ever  the  most  desirous,  and 
the  most  capable,  of  learning  yet  more.  Many  valuable 
writers  have  treated  of  the  subject ;  but  the  Gospels  them- 
selves (as  those  very  writers  would  be  the  first  to  admit), 
will  teach  more  of  the  imitation  of  Jesus  than  all  other  books 
together.  Each  man  may  do  more  for  himself  in  this  study 
than  the  ablest  theologian  can  do  for  him.  Pie  will  find  in 
every  page  such  active  yet  unpretending  benevolence — such 
exalted  generosity  and  self-devotedness  • —  such  forbearing 
kindness  and  lowliness,  combined  with  dignity — such  earnest 
and  steady,  yet  calm  and  considerate,  zeal — such  quiet  and 
unostentatious  fortitude — such  inflexible  yet  gentle  resolution 
— that  he  must  acknowledge  with  the  Jewish  officers,  "never 
man  spake  like  this  man:"  "never  did  man,"  he  will  add, 
"act  like  this  man;"  "truly,"  as  the  centurion  remarked, 
"  this  was  a  righteous  man ;  truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God ;" 
it  was  "Emanuel,  God  with  us." 

The  birth  of  Him  who  came  into  the  world  to  save  his 


380  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

people  from  their  sins,  will  be  remembered  by  each  one  of  us 
thousands  of  ages  hence,  and  for  ever.  It  behoves  us  to 
reflect,  in  time,  how  it  will  be  remembered  by  us  in  eternity. 

There  is  but  one  mediator  between  God  and  man, — Clirist 
Jesus — between  him  and  man — none.  He  is  CA'er  near  us — 
ever  ready  to  hear  us. 

Those  who  deny  the  divine  character  of  Christ  and  the 

Atonement  by  his  blood,  and  reckon  Him  as  no  more  than  a 

great  prophet  while  yet  dwelling  on  his  resurrection  as  the 

chief  part  of  the  Gospel  which  they  profess  to  receive,  would 

do  well  to  receive  the  instruction  it  affords  to  all  who  are 

willing  to   learn.     His   rising  merely  from   the   dead,  and 

preaching  the  doctrine  of  a  general  resurrection  to  others, 

would  not,  certainly,  prove  Him  to  be  more  than  man ;  but 

if  He  raised  himself  from  the  dead  by  his  own  power,  and 

promised  to  his  faithful  followers  not  merely  that  they  shouM 

rise  again,  but  that  Jle  would  "  raise  them  up  at  the  last 

day,"  it  is   surely  plain  He  could  be  no  less  than  divine. 

"  No  man,"  said  he,  "taketh  my  life  from  me,  but  I  lay  it 

down  of  myself;  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have 

power  to  take  it  again."     The  same  Scriptures  that  tell  us 

"Him    God   raised    up,"    plainly  show  that   this  was    that 

'•  fulness  of  the  Godhead"  which,  as  the  Apostle  tells  us, 

"dwelt   in   Jesus    Christ   bodily."     For  He  is   everywhere 

represented    as    himself    overcoming    and    triumphing    over 

death.     This  He  did  by  leading  the  way  to  immortal  life  ; 

by  being  "the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept;"  having,  as 

man,  been  subject  to  deatli,  and  as  God  "  manifest  in  the 

flesh"  raised  himself  from  death  to  confirm  his  promise  that 

He    would    raise    up    bis    faithful    followers ;     suffering    the 

penalty  of  .sin  in  liis  own  person,  and  (.nteriiig  first  into  the 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  381 

glory  prepared  for  his  disciples  —  the  reward  which  He,  not 
the}^  had  earned.  Hence  it  is  stated  by  the  Apoatlc  that 
He  "  Avas  delivered  for  our  oifences,  and  rose  again  for  our 
justification." 

The  Scriptures  present  to  us  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  in 
three  points  of  view.  —  I.  It  was  a  decisive  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  his  Gospel.  II.  It  explained  in  a  great  degree  the 
doctrines  of  that  Gospel  and  its  whole  character.  III.  It 
furnishes  a  type,  representation,  or  emblem  of  the  new  and 
spiritual  life  required  of  the  Christian ;  that  we,  being  dead 
indeed  unto  sin  and  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  we  may  become  new  creatures, —  "  that  like  as  Christ 
was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even 
so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life." 

The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the  meritorious  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  is  objected  to  as  dangerous ;  but  there  is  hardly  any- 
thing that  is  not,  if  men  will  but  determine  to  pervert  and 
misapply  it.  It  is  urged,  that  a  man  may  give  himself  up  to 
sin,  and  call  this  trusting  in  the  merits  of  Christ :  true  !  and 
so  may  a  Deist,  trusting  in  like  manner  to  the  mercy  of  God  ; 
for  who  can  set  bounds  to  that  ?  The  misinterpretations  of 
perverseness  and  folly  Ave  disavoAV,  but  cannot  prevent ;  the 
fault  is  in  the  me7i,  not  in  the  doctrines.  "Abusus  non  tollit 
usum." 

As  the  cloudy  pillar  which  stood  between  the  camp  of  the 
Egyptians  and  the  camp  of  Israel  was  a  cloud  and  darkness 
to  those,  but  gave  light  by  night  to  these ;  even  thus,  Paul 
found  the  Gospel  of  "  Christ  crucified"  was  "  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness ;"  but  to  them 
that  believe,  "  the  Avisdom  of  God  and  the  poAvcr  of  God." 


882  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

The  Christian  faith  is  not  merely  to  believe  what  Christ 
has  taught,  but  to  believe  in  Him.  Jesus  did  not  come  to 
make  a  revelation  so  much  as  to  bo  the  subject  of  a  revelation. 
He  was  only  so  far  the  revealer  and  teacher  of  the  great 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  as  we  might  call  the  sun  and  planets 
the  discoverers  of  the  Newtonian  system  of  astronomy.  He 
is  not  merely  the  teacher  of  the  true  way  to  eternal  life,  — 
He  is  "  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life."  lie  is  not  merely 
the  preacher  of  the  resurrection  and  immortal  life,  —  He  t> 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Life. 

May  his  Holy  Spirit  implant  this  faith  in  our  affections, 
and  enable  us  to  display  it  in  our  lives ;  and  bring  us  to  be 
partakers  of  the  blessing  He  has  promised  to  those  who, 
having  "not  seen,"  have  yet  believed;  "that  believing,  we 
might  have  life  through  his  name." 

The  Socinian's  argument  weighs  against  himself  in  several 
points.  For  instance,  it  is  urged,  that  the  meritorious  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  is  a  most  unintelligible  and  mysterious  means 
of  salvation  ;  whereas,  if  we  suppose  that  the  establishment 
of  a  pure  and  authoritative  system  of  morality  Avas  the  object 
of  his  mission,  the  whole  is  quite  conceivable  and  reasonable. 
Such  is  the  Socinian's  argument.  Now,  I  should  be  inclined 
to  conjecture,  a  priori,  that  a  revelation  would  probably 
contain  something  which  unassisted  reason  would  never  have 
devised.  It  is  surely  not  inconceivable,  at  least,  that  God 
may  see  a  fitness  in  our  believing  some  truths  wliich  arc,  to 
our  present  faculties,  incomprehensible ;  supposing,  as  I  do, 
that  this  is  the  state  of  the  fact,  I  readily  perceive  the  neces- 
sity of  a  revelation,  whicli  I  could  not  perceive,  if  I  thought 
this  revelation  contained  nothing  but  Avhut  was  discovered  or 
discoverable  without  it. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  383 

It  has  been  alleged  by  objectors  to  Christianity,  that  God 
would  never  interfere  with  the  course  of  his  own  creation, 
and  therefore  that  a  divine  revelation  and  miracles  are,  a 
priori,  impossible.  But  they  forget,  that  it  is  not  in  our 
power  to  determine  what  are  interruptions  of  the  course  of 
Nature.  If  one  of  the  ephemeral  insects  which  only  exist 
a  single  day,  were  to  be  endowed  with  reason,  and  to  have 
his  life  so  prolonged  as  to  behold  the  approach  of  night,  he 
would  imagine  the  sinking  sun  and  the  darkness  were  a  won- 
derful and  terrible  interruption  to  the  course  of  nature, 
instead  of  part  of  that  regular  course.  And  so,  if  a  clock 
could  be  so  constructed  as  to  strike  once  in  a  century,  each 
striking  would  seem  to  those  who  knew  nothing  of  its  work- 
manship, a  curious  phenomenon  or  accident.  Again,  it  was 
at  first  thought  that  comets  moved  at  random  through  the 
skies,  and  were  mere  accidents  in  the  system  of  the  universe  ; 
now  it  is  known  that  their  revolutions  are  subject  to  definite 
laws.  And  so  much  in  the  scheme  of  God's  providence 
which  we  imagined  to  be  interruptions,  may,  in  fact,  be 
merely  parts  of  that  great  system,  of  which  we  can  only 
dimly  understand  a  small  portion. 

Whoever  rejects  as  incredible  the  notion  of  there  having 
been  any  direct  communication  between  God  and  man  at  any 
time,  because  we  have  no  visible  proof  of  any  such  communi- 
cation taking  place  now,  must  believe  that  Man  at  first  civi- 
lized himself.  Now  everything  that  we  know  of  the  laws  of 
the  human  mind  lead  us  to  judge  that  this  is  impossible ; 
and  all  experience  tends  to  prove  that  such  a  thing  has  never 
happened ;  nor  can  a  single  instance  be  alleged,  without 
manifestly  begging  the  question,  of  any  nation  that  ever  of 
itself  made  the  first  steps  from  a  savage  to  a  civilized  state. 
When,  indeed,  men  have  arrived  at  a  certain  stage  in  the 


384  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

advance  towards  civilization  (far  sliort  of  what  exists  in 
Europe),  it  is  then  possible  for  them,  if  nothing  occurs  to 
keep  them  back,  to  advance  further  and  further  towards  a 
more  civilized  state.  Human  society  may  be  compared  to 
some  combustible  substances  which  will  not  take  fire  spon- 
taneously, but  when  once  set  on  fire  will  burn  with  con- 
tinually increasing  force.  A  community  of  men  requires  to 
be  kindled,  but  requires  no  more.  And  this  it  is  that  mis- 
leads some  persons  in  their  notions  respecting  savages.  For, 
findiuii  that  there  is  no  one  art  which  might  not  have  been 
invented  by  unassisted  Man  ;  supposing  him  to  have  a  certain 
degree  of  civilization  to  start  from,  they  hence  conclude  that 
unassisted  Man  might  have  invented  all  the  arts,  supposing 
him  left  originally  in  a  completely  savage  state.  But  this 
will  be  found  to  be  contradicted  by  all  history,  and  inconsis- 
tent with  the  character  of  such  beings  as  savages  actually 
are.  The  turbulent  and  unrestrained  passions,  the  indolence 
— and  above  all,  the  want  of  forethought,  Avhicli  are  charac- 
teristic of  savages,  naturally  tend  to  prevent,  and,  as  expe- 
rience seems  to  show,  always  have  prevented,  any  process 
of  gradual  advancement  from  taking  place,  except  when  the 
savage  is  stimulated  by  the  guidance  and  instruction  of  men 
superior  to  himself. 

Any  one  who  dislikes  the  conclusions  to  which  these  views 
lead,  will  probably  set  himself  to  contend  against  the  argu- 
ments which  prove  it  unlikely  that  savages  should  civilize 
themselves  ;  but  how  will  he  get  over  the  fact  that  they  never 
yet  have  done  this  ?  That  they  never  can,  is  a  theory ;  and 
something  may  always  be  said,  well  or  ill,  against  any 
theory ;  but  facts  are  stubborn  things ;  and  that  no  authenti- 
cated instances  can  be  produced  of  savages  that  ever  did 
emerge,  unaided,  from  that  state,  is  no  theory,  but  a  state- 
ment, liitherto  uncontradicted,  of  a  matter  of  fact. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  385 

Now  If  this  be  the  case,  when,  and  how,  did  civilization 
first  begin  ?  If  Man,  when  first  created,  was  left,  like  the 
brutes,  to  the  unaided  exercise  of  those  natural  powers  of 
body  and  mind,  which  are  common  to  the  European  and  to 
the  New-Hollander — how  comes  it  that  the  European  is  not 
now  in  the  condition  of  the  New-Hollander  ?  As  the  soil 
itself  and  the  climate  of  New-Holland  are  excellently 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  corn,  and  yet  (as  corn  is  not  indi- 
genous there)  could  never  have  borne  any  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  if  it  had  not  been  brought  thither  from  another  coun- 
try, and  sown ;  so,  the  savage  himself,  though  he  may  be,  as 
it  were,  a  soil  capable  of  receiving  the  seeds  of  civilization, 
can  never,  in  the  first  instance  produce  it,  as  of  spontaneous 
growth ;  and  unless  those  seeds  be  introduced  from  some 
other  quarter,  must  remain  for  ever  in  the  sterility  of  barba- 
rism. And  from  what  quarter,  then,  could  this  first  begin- 
ning of  civilization  have  been  supplied,  to  the  earliest  race 
of  juankind  ?  According  to  the  present  course  of  nature, 
the  first  introducer  of  cultivation  among  savages,  is,  and 
must  be,  Man,  in  a  more  improved  state :  in  the  beginning 
therefore  of  the  human  race,  this,  since  there  was  no  man  to 
effect  it,  must  have  been  the  work  of  another  Being.  There 
must  have  been,  in  short,  a  Revelation  made  to  the  first,  or 
to  some  subsequent  generation,  of  our  species.  And  this 
miracle  (for  such  it  is,  as  being  an  impossibility  according  to 
the  present  course  of  nature),  is  attested,  independently  of 
the  authority  of  Scripture,  and  consequently  in  confirmation 
of  the  Scripture  accounts,  by  the  fact,  that  civilized  Man 
exists  at  the  present  day. 

Taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  have  no  need  to  dwell 

on  the  utility,  the  importance,  the  antecedent  probability  — 

of   a  Revelation ;    it    is   established   as   a  fact,   of  which  a 

monument  is  existing  before  our  eyes.     Divine  instruction  is 

33 


386  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

proved  to  be  ncccssury,  not  merely  for  an  end  "which  we 
think  desirable,  or  which  wc  think  agreeable  to-divine  wisdom 
and  goodness,  but  for  an  end  which  we  knoiv  has  been 
attained.  That  Man  could  not  have  made  himself,  is  ap- 
pealed to  as  a  proof  of  the  agency  of  a  divine  Creator :  and 
that  Mankind  could  not,  in  the  first  instance,  have  civilized 
themselves,  is  a  proof,  exactly  of  the  same  kind,  and  of  equal 
strength,  of  the  agency  of  a  divine  Instructor. 

Some  are  apt  to  suppose  from  the  copious  and  elaborate 
arguments  that  have  been  urged  in  defence  of  the  authenti- 
city of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  that  it  is  harder  to  be  es- 
tablished than  that  of  other  supposed  ancient  books.  But 
the  importance  and  the  difficulty  of  proving  anything,  are 
very  apt  to  be  confounded  together,  though  easily  distin- 
guishable. We  bar  the  doors  carefully,  not  merely  when  we 
expect  an  \xn\isnsd\y  forjnidable  aXtaok,  but  when  we  have  an 
unusual  treasure  in  the  house. 

The  authority  on  which  we  rest  our  conviction  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  is  of  the  same 
kind  with  that  on  which  we  acknowledge  the  works  of 
Cicero  and  other  classical  authors,  though  incomparably 
stronr/er  in  degree.  For  it  is  not  to  the  Roman  world,  in  its 
widest  acceptation,  but  to  the  literary  portion  of  it,  that  we 
appeal  in  respect  of  any  volume  of  the  classics.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Christian  Scriptures  were  addressed  to  all 
classes  (the  doctrine  of  what  is  called  "Reserve,"  of  putting 
the  light  of  the  Gospel  under  a  bushel,  being  no  part  of  the 
apostolic  system),  so  that  probably  for  one  reader  of  Cicero 
or  Liv}',  there  were  more  than  fifty  persons,  even  in  a  very 
early  period  of  the  Church,  anxious  to  possess  copies  of  the 
Kow  Testament  Scriptures ;  and  careful,  in  proportion  to  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  SST 

high  importance  of  the  subject,  as  to  the  genuineness  and 
accuracy  of  what  they  road.  Tlicre  are  not  a  few,  who 
being  accustomed  to  hear  the  authority  of  the  primitive 
church  spoken  of  as  that  on  which  Ave  receive  the  New  Tes- 
tament Scriptures,  are  led  to  fancy  it  the  authority  of  some 
one  society  acthig  collective^?/,  and  in  its  corporate  capacity ; 
and  thus,  they  lose  sight  of  the  very  circumstance  on  which 
the  chief  force  of  this  testimony  depends,  namely,  that  there 
never  was  a  decree  or  decision  of  any  one  Society ;  but, 
what  has  far  more  weight,  the  concurring  independent  con- 
victions of  a  great  number  of  distinct  churches  in  various 
regions  of  the  world. 

The  testimony  which  the  works  of  the  early  Fathers  bear 
to  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  sacred  books,  as  Christians 
now  have  them,  has  been  well  compared  to  that  aiforded  by 
the  fossil  remains  of  antediluvian  animals,  which  prove  that, 
at  a  certain  remote  period,  animals  such  as  are  known  to  us 
have  inhabited  the  earth. 

The  credibility  of  our  Scriptures  is  established  by  several 
distinct  arguments,  each  separately  tending  to  show  that 
those  books  were,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  Christianity,  Avell 
known  and  carefully  preserved  among  Christians ;  namely : 
— (1)  They  were  quoted  by  ancient  Christian  writers  (2)  with 
peculiar  respect,  (3)  collected  into  a  distinct  volume,  and  (4) 
distinguished  by  appropriate  names  and  titles  of  respect,  (5) 
2)uhlicly  read  and  expounded,  and  (6)  had  commentaries,  &c., 
written  on  them  ;  (7)  were  received  by  Christians  of  different 
sects ;  &c.,  &c 

The  Lord's  day  is  observed  all  over  the  world,  by  different 
and  even  hostile   bodies   of   Christians,  in  memory  of  the 


388  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnXlIEGMS. 

resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  only  so,  but  it  is 
observed  by  them  as  a  day  which  has  been  always  thus  kept, 
from  the  very  day  when  the  Lord  Jesus  is  recorded  to  have 
risen,  and  to  have  appeared  to  his  disciples.  Now  had  the 
observance  of  it  not  been  from  the  very  first,  but  introduced 
in  some  later  age,  those  among  whom  it  was  thus  introduced, 
■would  have  been  able  to  testify  that  they  had  never  heard 
of  such  a  festival  before.  Here  then  is  a  monument  of  the 
truth  of  the  Sacred  History. 

The  existence  of  a  Christian  ministry  generally,  or  the 
unbroken  apostolical  succession  of  an  order  of  men,  is  per- 
haps as  complete  a  moral  certainty  as  any  historical  fact  can 
be.  For  if  a  century  ago,  or  ten  centuries  ago,  or  at  any 
other  time,  a  number  of  men  had  arisen,  claiming  to  be  the 
immediate  successors  of  persons  holding  this  office,  when,  in 
fact,  no  such  order  of  men  had  ever  been  heard  of,  such  a 
silly  pretension  would  have  been  immediately  exposed  and 
derided.  And  consequently  the  Christian  ministry  is  a 
standing  monument  to  attest  the  public  jn-oelamation  of  those 
miraculous  events  at  the  very  time  when  they  are  said  to  have 
occurred,  and  when  there  were  numbers  of  persons  able  and 
willing  to  expose  the  imposture  had  there  been  any.  And 
this  argument  fur  the  truth  of  the  Sacred  History,  is  quite 
independent  of  any  particular  7)iode  of  appointing  Christian 
ministers.  It  turns  entirely  on  the  mere  fact  of  the  constant 
existence  of  a  certain  order  of  men. 

This  apostolical  succession  of  a  Christian  ministry  f/cne- 
rally  is,  however,  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the 
apostolical  descent,  171  an  unbroken  line,  of  this  or  that 
individual  minister.  There  is  not  a  minister  in  all  Christen- 
dom, who  is  able  to  trace  up  with  any  approach  to  certainty 
his  own  spiritual  pedigree.     The  sacramental  virtue  (for  such 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  389 

is  implied,  whether  the  term  be  used  or  not,  in  the  principle) 
dependent  on  the  imposition  of  liands,  Avith  a  duo  observance 
of  apostolical  usages,  by  a  bishop,  himself  duly  consecrated 
and  previously  rightly  ordained  deacon  and  priest,  and 
rightly  baptized,  this  sacramental  virtue,  if  a  single  link  of 
the  chain  be  faulty,  must,  on  the  above  principle,  be  utterly 
nullified  ever  after,  in  respect  of  all  the  links  that  hang  on 
that  one.  And  wholly  to  exclude  such  irregularity,  during 
the  long  period  usually  designated  as  the  dark  ages,  would 
have  required  a  perpetual  miracle  ;  and  that  no  such  miracu- 
lous interference  existed  we  have  even  historical  proof,  in  the 
recorded  descriptions,  not  only  of  the  profound  ignorance 
and  profligacy  of  life  of  many  of  the  clergy  during  those 
ages,  but  also  of  the  grossest  irregularities  in  respect  of  dis- 
cipline and  form.  To  suppose  the  occurrence  of  a  perpetual 
miracle  in  this  case,  when  no  such  miraculous  interference 
came  in  to  secure  the  "  apostolical  succession"  of  right  faith 
and  right  conduct,  is  to  represent  Christianity  as  mainly  a 
sr/stetn  of  outivard  ordinances ;  and  to  compel  alike  those 
who  believe  and  those  who  disbelieve  the  plea,  to  come 
eventually  to  the  conclusion  that,  what  some  regard  as  its 
essentials,  a  Christian  faith,  and  a  Christian  heart,  are 
comparatively  a  small  part  of  it. 

In  the  case  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  have  a 
remarkable  proof  of  their  genuineness.  They  could  never 
have  been  forged  by  Christians  at  all,  because  they  are  pre- 
served and  highly  reverenced  by  the  unbelieving  Jeivs  in 
various  parts  of  the  world  at  this  day ;  although  these  books 
contain  what  appear,  to  Christians,  most  remarkable 
prophecies  of  Jesus,  whom  the  Jews  reject.  These  are  the 
Scriptures  which  the  Jews  at  Berea  were  commended  for 
searching  with  diligent  care,  and  the  consequence  of  which 

8a* 


390  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

scarcliing  -we  are  told,  -was,  that  "  many  of  them  believed." 
Yet,  though  the  people  who  lived  in  the  times  of  the  Apostles 
had  seen  these  prophecies  so  far  fulfilled  in  Jesus,  as  to  afford 
good  reason  for  receiving  Him,  we  have  an  advantage  over 
them  in  seeing  the  more  complete  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies 
that  have  since  taken  place.     For  instance,  that  a  religion 
should  arise  among  the  Jews,  which  would  have  a  wide  spread 
among  the  Gentiles,  but  yet  that  it  should  be  a  new  religion, 
not  the  same  as  taught  by  Moses ;    and  that  this   religion 
should    spring,  not  from    the  whole    nation,  but    from    one 
individual  of  that  nation,  and  he  a  person  despised,  rejected, 
and  persecuted  even  to  death,  by  his  oAvn  people.     All  this, 
which  is  so  unlike  what  any  one  would  have  foretold  from 
mere   guess,  and  which  we   see   actually  come   to   pass,  is 
prophesied    in    books,  which    enemies    of   Christianity    (the 
unbelieving  Jews  of  this  day)  reverence  as  divinely  inspired. 
And  the  proof  from  these  prophecies  is  made  very  much 
the  stronger  by  the  number  of  distinct  particulai'S  which  they 
mention ;  some  of  them  seeming,  at  first  sight,  at  variance 
with  each  other  ;  but  all  of  them  agreeing  with  what  has 
really  taken  place.     Such  a  prophecy  is  like  a  complicated 
lock,  with  many  and  intricate  wards,  when  you  have  found  a 
key  that  opens  it.     An  ordinary  simple  lock  may  be  fitted 
by  several  different  keys,  that  were  not  made  for  it:  just  as 
a  loose  general  kind  of  prediction  —  of  the  coming  of  some 
great  conqueror,  or  the  like, — may  have  been  made  by  guess  ; 
and  may  be  found  to  agree  with    several  different    events. 
13ut  the  more  numerous  and  complicated  are  the  wards  of  a 
lock,  the  more  certain  you  are  that  a  key  which  exactly  fits 
it  must  be  the  right  key ;  and  that  one  of  them,  the  key  or 
the  lock,  must  have  been  made  for  the  other.     And  so  it  is 
with  prophecies  that  contain  many  distinct,  and  seemingly 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  391 

opposite  particulars,  when  we  see  the  event  fulfilling  all  those 
particulars. 

The  Jewish  people,  in  their  present  condition,  are  a  kind 
of  standing  miracle ;  being  a  monument  of  the  wonderful 
fulfilment  of  the  most  extraordinary  prophecies  that  were 
ever  delivered;  which  prophecies  they  themselves  preserve 
and  bear  witness  to,  though  they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  them.  No  other  account  than  this  of  the  present 
state,  and  past  history,  of  the  Jews  ever  has  been,  or  can  be, 
given,  that  is  not  open  to  objections  greater  than  all  the 
objections  put  together,  that  have  ever  been  brought  against 
Christianity. 

The  testimony  —  whether  positive  or  negative  —  of  adver- 
saries and  of  indifferent  persons  is    generally  regarded  to 
have  great  weight ;  and  the  historic  details,  wonderful  and 
miraculous  as  they  are,  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  are  not 
without  this    important  evidence  of  their  truth.     Not  only 
have  they  the  confirmatory  negative  testimony  of  the  uncon- 
tradiction  of  their  statements,  though  publicly  put  forth  and 
generally  known,  but  they  have  also  the  positive  testimony 
of  opponents.     It  is  clear  from  the  fragments  remaining  of 
the  ancient  arguments  against  Christianity,  and  the  allusions 
to    them   in    Christian   writers,  and    also    from    the  Jewish 
accounts  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  which  are  still  extant,  under 
the  title  of  Toldoth  Jeschu,  that  the  original  opponents  of 
Christianity  admitted  that  the  miracles  were  wrought,  but 
denied  that  they  proved  the  divine  origin  of  the  religion,  and 
attributed  them  to  magic.    It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  book, 
Toldoth  Jeschu,  one,  and  only  one,  of  the  alleged  miracles 
is  denied ;  so  closely  does  it  agree,  in  this  respect,  with  our 
Sacred  Writers,  who  describe  the  unbelieving  Jews  as  deny- 


392  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTUEGMS. 

ing  the  fact  of  Christ's  resurrection,  but  admitting  the  other 
miracles,  and  ascribing  them  to  the  agency  of  evil  spirits. 
The  prevailing  notion  among  the  ancients  seems  to  have 
been,  that  a  magician's  power,  however  great,  lasted  only  for 
his  life.  The  resurrection,  therefore,  of  Jesus  utterly  over- 
throAV,  in  the  minds  of  those  wlio  were  convinced  of  the  fact, 
a  supposition  of  his  being  a  magician.  Now  the  Toldoth 
Jeschu  must  have  been  compiled  (at  whatever  period)  from 
traditions  exist iiig  from  the  very  first;  for  it  is  incredible 
that  if  those  contemporaries  of  Jesus  who  opposed  Him  had 
denied  the  fact  of  the  miracles  having  been  wrought,  their 
descendants  should  have  admitted  the  facts,  and  resorted  to 
the  hypothesis  of  magic.  And  this  admission  of  persons 
living  so  much  nearer  the  time  assigned  to  the  miracles,  is  a 
most  important  evidence ;  for,  credulous  as  men  were  in  those 
days  respecting  magic,  they  would  hardly  have  resorted  to 
this  explanation,  unless  some,  at  least  plausible,  evidence  for 
the  miracles  bad  been  adduced ;  and  they  could  not  but  be 
sensible  that  to  prove  (had  that  been  possible)  the  pretended 
miracles  to  be  impostures,  would  have  been  the  most  decisive 
course ;  since  this  would  at  once  have  disproved  the  religion. 

The  admission  by  unbelievers  of  old  of  the  miracles  which 
attest  the  Christian  religion,  while  denying  that  a  religion  so 
attested  was  from  God,  is  remarkable  as  a  reverse  of  what  is 
the  case  in  modern  times,  when  persons  have  been  found, 
who,  while  professing  themselves  believers  in  Christianity,- 
represent  the  disciples  (how  they  came  to  be  disciples  these 
persons  do  not  tell  us)  as  having  been  led  by  zeal  for  their 
Master's  honour,  to  exaggerate  and  misrepresent  some  of  the 
occurrences  which  they  record,  and  to  invent  others.  The 
sick  persons,  for  instance,  healed  by  Ilim,  they  represent  as 
having  accidentally  recovered  just  at  the   time  M'hen  they 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  393 

were  brought  to  Him.  His  walking  on  the  water  was,  they 
tell  us,  merely  a  mode  of  expressing  that  He  waded  along  a 
shallow  portion  of  the  lake  !  And  the  five  thousand  Avere 
fed,  not  Avith  the  bread  distributed  to  them  by  the  disciples, 
but  Avith  what  some  of  themselves  had  brought  with  them ; 
Avhich,  on  that  supposition,  must  have  amounted  to  ahout fifty 
liundved-weiglit;  a  quantity  too  conspicuous,  certainly,  to  have 
admitted  of  any  deception. 

All  this  Avould  be  simply  ridiculous,  from  its  excessive 
absurdity,  if  it  Avere  not  so  profanely  presumptuous.  And 
yet  men  are  to  be  found,  professedly  at  least,  believing  such 
things,  and,  all  the  Avhilc,  imagining  themselves  not  cred- 
ulous ! 

Then,  again,  come  others,  who  sweep  away  Avith  merited 
contempt  all  this  tissue  of  extrava'gance,  and  declare  that 
all  the  miraculous  accounts  in  the  Gospels  Avere  invented  in 
the  third  or  fourth  century,  after  the  religion  had  been  firmly 
established  in  men's  minds,  and  Avhen  it  was  received  A\'ith 
such  reverential  aAve,  that  stories  of  miracles  connected  Avith 
it  Avere  rcceiA^ed  Avith  ready  credence. 

These  theologians  (for  such  they  call  themselves)  forget 
that  they  have  substituted  for  those  absurd  interpretations 
Avhich  they  discard,  another  absurdity  quite  equal  to  any  of 
them.  They  tell  us  of  Avhat  they  suppose  happened  in  the 
Christian  world,  Avhen  the  Gospel  had  been  fully  established  ; 
but  they  forget  to  tell  us  how  it  came  to  be  established  ! 

Suppose  some  historian  maintaining  that  the  vast  armies 
Avhich  Napoleon  Buonaparte  is  described  as  bringing  into  the 
field,  and  his  prodigious  trains  of  artillery,  and  his  Avonderful 
victories,  are  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  credibility,  and  arc 
to  be  set  down  as  legendary  fables,  or  what  are  in  modern 
times  called  onytlis  ;  and  adding,  that  these  splendid  legends 
Avere  gradually  invented,  and  more  and  more  exaggerated,  in 


394  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

order  to  do  honour  to  this  Napoleon,  after  he  had  attained 
an  empire,  he  having  raised  himself  from  a  very  humble 
station  to  that  empire,  and  subjugated  the  greater  part  of 
Europe,  at  the  head  of  a  handful  of  unarmed  followers,  and 
without  fighting  any  battles  at  all.  If  any  one  were  supposed 
serious  in  maintaining  such  a  theory,  he  would  be  reckoned 
an  idiot  or  a  madman.  And  yet  such  silly  credulity  has  its 
parallel  in  that  of  those  Avho,  while  rejecting  the  evidence  of 
miracles,  must  believe  that  Christ  and  Ilis  Apostles  did, 
witliout  any  superhuman  powers,  what  we  have  the  best 
reason  for  thinking  no  man  witliout  such  powers  could  do, 
and  Avhat,  certainly,  without  such  powers,  no  other  men,  in 
like  circumstances,  have  ever  done.  That  a  handful  of  Jew- 
ish peasants  and  fishermen  should  undertake  to  abolish  the 
religion  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  and  introduce  a  new 
one,  in  defiance  of  all  the  prejudices  and  all  the  power  of 
this  world  arrayed  against  them ; — that  they  should  think  to 
effect  this  by  pretending  to  miraculous  powers  which  they  did 
not,  and  knew  they  did  not,  possess ; —  and  that  they  should 
succeed  in  tlic  attempt ; — all  this  is,  surely,  many  times  more 
incredible  than  anything  recorded  in  the  Scriptures.  For 
extraordinary,  and  in  themselves  improbable,  as  are  the 
miraculous  circumstances,  all  of  them  put  together  are  as 
nothing  in  point  of  strangeness  compared  with  the  only 
alternative;  with  what  must  be  believed  by  any  one  who 
should,  therefore,  resolve  to  reject  these  miraculous  narratives. 

Is  it  not,  crctcris  i^aribus,  a  greater  effort  of  faith  to  expect 
a  miracle  bef(n-ehand,  than  to  believe  in  the  narrative  of  a 
past  one  ?  For  in  this  latter  case  there  is,  on  the  opposite 
side,  the  difficulty,  whatever  it  may  be,  of  accounting  for  a 
fahe  narrative  of  a  matter  of  fact ;  whereas,  in  regard  to 
what  is  future,  how  much  sooner  some  may  expect  it,  then 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTIIEOMS.  395 

exjiectation  is  a  matter  of  ojmiion.  And  a  groundless  ex- 
pectation or  other  opinion,  is,  as  a  general  rule,  less  strong 
than  a  groundless  narrative.  And  yet  many  there  have  been 
Avho  have  professed  to  disbelieve,  or  to  reject  all  miraculous 
narratives,  and  many  more  who  find  in  these  their  chief  diffi- 
culty, yet  possess  a  firm  expectation,  unencumbered  by  any 
sense  of  difficulty,  of  the  greatest  of  all  miracles, — a  future  life. 

Pai'allels  have  been  drawn  by  Hume,  in  his  Essay  on 
3Iiracles,  and  by  writers  professing  themselves  Christians, 
between  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
those  in  the  legends  of  pretended  saints,  which  last  were 
received,  just  as  counterfeit  coin  is,  from  its  resemblance  to 
genuine. 

The  credibility  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  is  estab- 
lished not  alone  by  external  evidence,  but  by  internal  marks 
of  truth  —  by  those  peculiarities  which  distinguish  the 
Christian  revelation,  alike  from  natural  religion  and  all 
pretended  revelations.  Some  few  of  these  internal  evidences, 
derived  from  the  characteristics  of  the  Scriptures  themselves, 
may  be  thus  summed  up  : — 

I.  Not  one  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  is  attri- 
buted to  Jesus  himself;  had  there  been  any  forgery,  the 
forged  books,  or  at  least  the  principal  of  them,  would  natur- 
ally have  been  put  forth  as  written  by  the  very  founder  of 
the  new  religion,  laying  down  the  principles  and  precepts  of 
that  reli2;ion,  and  answerinsc  to  the  books  of  the  law  written 
by  Moses. 

II.  The  omission  of  the  title  of  Christians  as  applied  by 
the  earliest  Christians  to  themselves,  proving  the  antiquity 
of  the  books.     The  term,  which  was  manifestly  of  Komau 


30G  MISCELLAXEOUS   APOmTnEGMS, 

origin,  occurs  but  three  times  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  in 
each  case,  manifestly,  as  employed  by  those  who  were  not 
Christians.  This  fact,  (however  it  is  to  be  accounted  for, 
or  whether  we  can  account  for  it  at  all  or  not,)  is  one  that 
would  alone  be  a  sufficient  disapproval  of  the  notion  of  some 
daring  speculators,  that  the  New  Testament  writings  were 
composed  in  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  century,  from  some 
vague  floating  traditions,  and  then,  fathered  upon  the 
apostles  and  evangelists  by  fraud,  carelessness,  and  igno- 
rance. Had  this  been  the  case,  the  title  of  "Christians," 
which  was  then  in  as  common  use  as  it  is  noAV,  would  undoubt- 
edly have  been  found  in  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  in 
its  present  application  by  Christians  to  each  other.  This 
omission,  then,  alone  furnishes,  even  to  a  plain  unlearned 
reader,  a  complete  proof  of  their  antiquity.  And  the 
anxiety  of  infidels  to  disprove  that  antiquity,  shows  plainly 
how  they  despair  of  contending,  in  any  other  way,  against 
their  truth.  Such  books  could  never  possibly,  if  false,  have 
been  circulated  without  detection,  at  the  very  time  when 
the  wonderful  events  related  in  them,  are  described  as 
occurring. 

III.  The  character  of  Jesus  himself,  as  drawn  by  the 
Evangelists.  It  is  quite  unlike  all  that  had  ever  before 
appeared,  or  been  described,  or  imagined ;  and  the  picture  is 
evidently  an  unstudied  one.  There  is  nothing  in  it  of  the 
nature  of  eulogium  and  panegyric. 

IV.  The  brief,  calm,  unadorned  style  in  which  the  miracles 
and  sufferings  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  are  narrated  ;  and  the 
candid  and  frank  simjilicity  with  which  the  weakness  and 
faults  of  the  disciples  arc  described. 

V.  The  clear  revelation  of  a  future  state,  and  the 
promise  of  eternal  life  through  the  resurrection  of  tlie  body. 

\[.   The    difl'ercnt    nature    of   that    kingdom  of   heaven, 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPnTHEGMS.  397 

proclaimed  by  our  Lord  and  the  apostles,  from  that  glorious 
worldly  empire  which  the  Jews  expected;  and  the  total 
absence  of  all  attempt  to  accommodate  the  doctrines  to  the 
prejudices,  or  to  flatter  the  pride,  of  the  Jews,  by  holding 
out  hopes  of  national  or  spiritual  supremacy. 

VII.  The  absolute  requisition  of  a  morality  stricter  and 
superior  in  kind  to  any  hitherto  practised,  or  even  approved ; 
and  by  this  opposition,  not  merely  to  men's  natural  inclina- 
tions, but  also  in  some  points  to  their  ideas  of  what  is  praise- 
worthy, proving  the  utter  incredibility  of  mere  ordinary 
human  beings  contriving  a  religion  which  condemns  not  only 
men's  conduct  but  their  principles. 

VIII.  The  mode  by  which  that  morality  is  inculcated,  so 
peculiar,  1st,  in  the  motives  supplied  ;  2ndly,  in  the  examples 
proposed  ;  ordly,  in  the  precepts  delivered. 

IX.  The  omission  not  merely,  but  the  exclusion,  of  any 
sacrifice  save  that  offered  up  by  the  founder  of  the  religion 
in  his  own  person  ;  of  any  sacrificing  priest  (Iliercus  or 
Sacerdos)  except  Him,  the  great  and  true  High  Priest,  and 
consequently  the  exclusion  of  any  priest,  in  that  sense,  on 
earth ;  except  so  far  as  every  one  of  the  worshippers  was 
required  to  present  himself  as  "  a  living  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable  unto  God ;"  and  the  exclusion  of  any  temple, 
except  the  collected  congregation  of  the  worshippers  them- 
selves. When  it  is  remembered  that  the  Gospel  religion  was 
introduced  by  men  and  among  men,  whether  Jews  or  Pagans, 
that  had  never  heard  of,  or  conceived,  such  a  thing  as  a  reli- 
gion without  priest,  sacrifice,  altar,  or  temple,  is  it  credible 
that  Christianity  should  have  been  without  them,  if  it  had 
been  invented  by  men  ? 

X.  The  practical  character  of  the  revelation,  and  the 
careful  avoidance  of  all  that  could  serve  to  mere  speculative 
knowledge  or  the  gratification  of  curiosity,  however  natural 

34 


398  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

or  excusable,  the  ministering  to  wliicli  is  a  marked  cliarac- 
teristic  of  all  other  religious  systems. 

These  characteristics,  and  many  others  that  might  be 
pointed  out,  -would  be  very  remarkable  if  met  Avith  in  any 
one  book  ;  but  it  is  still  more  so  when  it  is  considered  that 
they  run  through  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  "which 
are  no  less  than  twenty-seven  distinct  compositions,  of 
several  different  kinds,  written  apparently  at  considerable 
intervals  of  time  from  each  other,  and  Avhich  have  come  down 
to  us  as  the  works  of  no  less  than  eight  different  authors. 
Infidels  may  reasonably  be  called  upon  to  explain  how,  if 
Christianity  be  the  invention  of  man,  the  Christian  Scriptures 
the  production  of  uninspired  men,  it  comes  to  pass  that  they 
differ  so  materially  from  all  other  religions  invented  by  man, 
and  all  pretended  revelations  put  forward  by  man.  And 
when  they  ask,  is  it  likely  that  Christianity  came  from  God  ? 
they  may  be  fairly  met  with  the  question,  is  it  likely  that 
Christianity  came  from  man  ?  And  the  latter  is  much  the 
fairer  and  more  rational  kind  of  enquiry,  because  we  are 
much  better  able  to  judge  what  might  reasonably  be  expected 
from  man  than  from  God.  For  human  nature  is  our  own 
nature,  "but  God's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  his 
thoughts  like  our  thoughts."  It  is  much  safer,  consequently, 
to  argue  that  Christianity  did  not  come  from  man  because 
it  is  not  such  as  might  reasonably  be  expected  from  man, 
than  to  argue  that  it  did  not  come  from  God  because  it 
seems  to  us  not  such  in  all  respects  as  the  Deity  would  be 
likely  to  deliver  to  us. 

The  dependence  of  the  unlearned  on  the  learned  for 
translations  of  Scripture,  is  very  far  from  amounting  to  a 
submissive  reliance  on  their  word,  for  all  that  Scripture 
contains  and  for  the  very  existence  of  the  Sacred  Books. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  899 

On  tlie  contrary,  the  known  existence  of  several  distinct, 
and  even  rival,  versions  of  the  Scriptures  into  English  and 
many  other  modern  languages,  all  substantially  agreeing 
"where  there  could  not  have  been  any  concert, — all,  even 
the  most  imperfect,  exhibiting  all  the  main  facts  and  doc- 
trines of  our  religion, — this  aflfords  to  the  unlearned  reader  a 
perfectly  good  ground  for  his  acceptance  of  that  religion, 
and  a  ground  quite  independent  of  any  implicit  reliance  on 
the  good  faith  and  on  the  wisdom  of  the  translators.  All 
these  translations,  in  short,  are  in  the  condition  of  witnesses 
placed  in  a  witness-box  in  a  court  of  justice ;  examined  and 
cross-examined  by  friends  and  enemies,  and  brought  face  to 
face  with  each  other,  so  as  to  make  it  certain  that  any 
falsehood  or  mistake  will  be  brought  to  light.  Thus  the 
strongest  possible  evidence  of  the  general  fidelity  and  trust- 
worthiness of  the  translations  of  the  Bible  which  they  read, 
is  afforded  to  unlearned  Christians  in  a  free  country,  where, 
every  man  being  allowed  to  publish  his  sentiments  on 
religious  matters,  any  attempt  to  palm  off  a  false  translation 
of  the  Scriptures,  would  be  immediately  detected  and  exposed. 
It  is  just  the  same  sort  of  evidence  as  that  on  which  you 
believe  that  the  earth  is  round,  or  that  there  is  such  a  city 
as  Paris,  though  you  may  have  never  been  at  Paris,  nor  ever 
sailed  round  the  world. 

The  prevalence  of  figurative  language  in  Sacred  Writers, 
may  be  regarded  as  something  exhibiting  marks  of  design. 
It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  a  figurative  style  is 
perfectly  retained  in  translation,  in  which  evei'y  other  excel- 
lence of  expression  is  liable  to  be  lost.  It  may  be  said  with 
truth,  that  the  book  most  necessary  to  translate  into  every 
language  is  chiefly  characterized  by  that  kind  of  excellence  in 
diction  which  is  least  impaired  by  translation. 


400  MISCELLANEOUS    APOrilTIIEGMS. 

In  the  Scriptures  vre  have,  as  it  were,  a  lasting  picture  of 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  which  we  must  consult  in  order  that  we 
may  recognize  llini,  ami  reject  false  ajipearauees. 

It  is  not  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  present  with  the  Church ;  but  it  is  by  them,  as  a  test, 
that  his  presence  is  in  each  case  to  be  known.  "Whatever 
suggests  to  us  anything  not  agreeable  to  God's  written  word, 
"wc  may  be  sure  is  not  from  llim. 

lie  who  studies  the  Scriptures  is  consulting  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  ;  and  if  he  would  hope  for  His  aid,  must  remember 
this,  and  search  honestly  and  earnestly  for  the  truth. 

All  Scripture  is  in  itself  invulnerable ;  and  they  who 
attack  it,  do  but  dash  themselves  to  pieces  against  a  rock. 

Christian  conduct  must  be  founded  on  Faith  —  a  faith 
drawn  from  the  Scriptures;  supported  by  IIoj)c  —  a  hope 
based  on  the  Scriptures ;  and  guided  by  Charity —  a  charity 
learned  from  the  Scriptures. 

The  Scriptures  venerated,  yet  not  used,  arc  no  lunger  like 
the  daily  shower  of  manna  to  sup])ly  daily  wants,  but  the  pot 
of  manna  stored  uj)  with  reverent  care  in  the  ark,  as  a 
curiosity. 

lie  who  should  think  to  make  a  voyage  in  safety,  by  hav- 
ing on  board  the  ship  a  chart  of  the  coasts  he  was  to  pass, 
shut  up  in  a  chest  and  never  consulted,  or,  if  taken  out, 
merely  glanced  at,  without  any  attempt  to  understand  it,  or 
to  steer  his  course  by  it,  would  not  be  more  a  madman  or  an 
idiul  than  is  the  possessor  of  a  J>ible  that  he  never  reads,  or 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  401 

reads  at  certain  stated  times,  -without  endeavouring  to  learn 
anything  from  it,  or  to  apply  it  to  his  own  improvement.  To 
sucli,  the  words  of  Scripture,  whether  in  a  strange  language, 
or  in  his  own,  are  no  more  than  empty  sounds,  or  mere  black 
marks  on  white  paper. 

The  stream  of  religious  knowledge  should  be  continually 
traced  up  to  the  pure  fountain-head,  the  living  waters  of  the 
Scriptures. 

The  admission  of  the  necessity  of  human  teaching,  and  the 
deference  due  to  the  judgment  of  the  learned  and  pious,  is 
quite  consistent  with  the  demand  of  Scripture  proof.  A 
town-clock  is  of  excellent  use  in  making  publicly  known  with 
authority  the  correct  time  —  making  it  known  to  many  who, 
perhaps,  at  no  time,  and  certainly  not  at  all  times,  would  find 
it  convenient  to  verify  its  correctness  for  themselves.  And 
yet  it  is  clear,  that  one  who  maintained  the  great  use  and 
importance  of  having  such  a  clock,  would  not  be  in  the  least 
inconsistent,  if  he  also  maintained  that  it  might  possibly  go 
astray,  and  if  he  inculcated  the  necessity  of  frequently  com- 
paring it  with,  and  regulating  it  by,  the  dial  which  receives 
its  light  from  heaven. 

Offering  to  the  people  proof  of  doctrines  from  the  works 
of  the  Fathers  —  works  mostly  untranslated,  and  far  too 
voluminous  for  above  one  person  in  a  hundred  thousand  to 
master — is  something  like  offering  to  pay  a  large  bill  of  ex- 
change in  farthings,  which,  you  knoAV,  it  would  be  intolerably 
troublesome  to  count  or  carry. 

By  "ancient"  some  persons  understand  what  belongs  to 
the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era ;  some,  the  first 
four ;   some,  seven ;  —  so    arbitrary   and   uncertain   is   the 
34* 


402  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

standard  by  wliicli  some,  who  tell  us  that  we  are  bound  to 
seek  for  a  distinct  authoritative  sanction  in  some  ancient  yrrit- 
ings,  some  tradition,  would  persuade  us  to  try  questions  on 
whicli  tlicy,  at  the  same  time,  teach  us  to  believe  our  Chris- 
tian Faith  and  Christian  Hope  are  staked. 

"  Scire  velim,  pretium  chartis  quotus  arroget  annus  ; 
****** 

Est  vetus  atque  probus,  centum  qui  perfecit  annos. 
Quid  ?  qui  depjcriit  minor  uno  mensc  vel  anno, 
Inter  quos  referendus  erit?  veterisne?"  .  .  . 

Horace,  Epist.,  i.,  b.  2. 

To  interpret  the  less  known  by  the  better  known  is  reason- 
able ;  but  to  reverse  the  process,  as  is  done  in  interpreting 
the  Scriptures  by  the  writings  of  the  Ancient  Fathers,  is  as 
if  a  naturalist  should  take  a  fossil  elephant  as  a  standard  by 
which  to  correct  and  modify  the  description  of  the  animal 
now  existing  among  us. 

The  tendency  to  teach  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of 
men,  and  to  acquiesce  in  such  teachings,  is  not  the  effect, 
but  the  cause,  of  their  being  taken  for  the  commandments 
of  God. 

The  implicit  deference  due  to  the  declarations  and  precepts 
of  Holy  Scripture,  is  due  to  nothing  else. 

Tradition  is  not  tlie  interpreter  of  Scripture,  but  Scripture 
is  the  interpreter  of  tradition.  What  has  come  down  to  us 
for  tradition,  if  agreeable  to  Scripture,  is  to  be  received  ;  if 
opposed  to  it,  to  be  rejected ;  if  neither,  is  to  be  left  in 
uncertainty. 

It  is  a  foolish  thing  to  say  that  tradition  is  to  be  held  to, 
rather  than  Scripture,   because  tradition  was    before  Scrip- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  403 

ture ;  since  Scripture  (that  is,  written  records)  were  used  on 
purpose,  after  tradition  had  been  tried,  to  guard  against  the 
uncertainties  of  mere  tradition.  Thus  Luke  tells  Thcophilus 
that  he  had  written  an  account  of  our  Lord's  life  and  teach- 
ing, that  Theophilus  "  might  know  the  certainty  (the  exact 
state  of  the  case)  of  those  things  wherein  he  had  been  in- 
structed." And  John  and  Paul,  upon  two  occasions  (John 
xxiii.  23 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  1 — 5),  correct  false  reports  (that  is, 
traditions),  which  had  gone  abroad  among  Christians  even  in 
their  own  day. 

To  believe  that  the  Apostles  would  leave  the  essentials  of 
Christianity/  to  be  collected  from  incidental  allusions,  or 
from  doubtful  traditions  quite  inaccessible  to  the  generality 
of  Christians,  and  about  wliich  the  learned  few  are  far  from 
being  agreed,  is  surely  not  to  show  reverence  for  them,  either 
as  inspired  servants  of  God,  or  even  as  men  of  ordinary  good 
sense. 

To  found  faith  on  an  appeal  to  tradition,  is  to  base  it  on 
the  report  of  a  report  of  a  report  of  a  report. 

Discussions,  one  sometimes  meets  with,  as  to  the  "  credi- 
bility of  tradition"  generally,  are  as  idle  as  Hume's  respect- 
ing the  credit  due  to  testimony.  One  might  as  well  enquire, 
"What  degree  of  regard  should  be  paid  to  books  ?"  as  com- 
mon sense  would  dictate  in  reply,  "What  book?"  so  also, 
"Whose  testimony?  wha-t  tradition?"  As  each  particular 
testimony  and  each  particular  book,  just  s'o,  should  each 
alleged  tradition  be  examined  on  its  own  merits. 

Many  defend  oral  tradition  on  the  ground  that  we  have 
the  Scriptures  themselves  by  tradition.     ^Vould  they  think 


404  MISCELLANEOUS   ArOPnillEGMS. 

that  because  they  might  trust  servants  to  deliver  a  letter, 
hoAvever  long  or  important,  tlioroforc  tliey  might  trust  them 
to  deliver  its  contents  by  -word  of  moutli  in  a  message  ?  A 
footman  brings  you  a  letter  from  a  friend,  upon  -Nvhose  "word 
you  can  perfectly  rely,  giving  an  account  of  something  that 
has  happened  to  himself,  and  the  exact  account  of  wliich  you 
are  greatly  concerned  to  know.  "Wliile  you  are  reading  aud 
answering  the  letter,  the  footman  goes  into  the  kitchen,  and 
there  gives  your  cook  an  account  of  the  same  thing ;  which, 
he  says,  he  overheard  the  upper-servants  at  home  talking 
over,  as  related  to  them  by  the  valet,  who  said  he  had  it  from 
your  friend's  son's  own  lips. 

The  distinction  attempted  to  be  set  up  between  co-ordinate 
and  subordinate  tradition  is  but  a  fallacious  one ;  the  real 
difference  being  only  that  every  usurped  and  arbitrary  power 
is  usually  exercised  with  comparative  leniency  at  first.  Let 
but  the  principle  which  is  common  to  both  systems  be  estab- 
lished, and  the  one  may  easily  be  made  to  answer  all  the 
purposes  of  the  other. 

Tradition  and  Church  Interpretation  are  made  by  a  certain 
system,  subordinate  to,  and  dependent  on,  Scriptui'c,  much 
as  some  parasite  ])l:ints  are  dependent  on  the  tree,  that 
supports  tlicm,  gradually  overspreading  it  with  their  own 
foliage,  till  by  little  and  little  they  weaken  and  completely 
smotlicr  it. 

"  Miratur(j[uc  novas  frondes,  et  non  sua  poma." 

As  a  man  directed  to  take  ttvo  medicines,  as  being  both 
essential  for  his  health,  would  most  likely  not  take  the  i)ains 
to  analyze  the  one,  when  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  analyze 

the  utlicr ;  but  would  rather  take  his  physician's  word  for 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  405 

both,  —  or  at  once  reject  botli :  so  those,  who  blindly  and 
uninquiringly  trust  to  a  human  spiritual  guide,  will  be  induced 
to  take  his  word  for  everything  alike. 

Some  advocates  of  authoritative  tradition  who,  Avhile  loudly 
proclaiming  that  they  do  not  require  assent  to  anything  that 
may  not  be  proved  by  Scripture,  would  yet  have  us  receive 
a  point  of  faith  on  their  word  and  on  their  conviction  that  it 
is  Scriptural,  act  in  the  same  way,  and  produce  the  same 
effect,  that  a  Government  would  do  that  should  make  a  paper 
currency  legal  tender,  and  require  belief  of  the  existence 
and  amount  of  the  represented  bullion  on  hand,  and  of  its 
ability  to  produce  it,  not  on  the  test  of  payment  demanded 
and  obtained,  but  on  its  own  word  —  the  word  of  the  very 
Government  issuing  this  paper  currency ;  which  thus  made 
inconvertible  Avould  supersede  the  precious  metals,  till  they 
gradually  disappear  and  leave  nothing  but  a  profusion  of 
worthless  paper. 

The  Christian  minister  should  ever  remember,  that  the 
Apostles  and  Evangelists  can  teach  Christianity  better  than 
he  can,  and  carefully  lead  his  flock  to  the  study  of  their 
writings.  He  should  instruct  them,  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
out  of  the  Scriptures.  He  should  teach  them  to  search  the 
Scriptures  for  themselves  to  see  "whether  those  things  be 
so,"  which  they  shall  have  heard  from  him ;  and  should  warn 
them  to  trust  in  God,  and  not  to  transfer  their  allegiance  to 
any  uninspired  man,  and  should  caution  them  against  being 
led  away,  by  bold  assertions  and  arrogant  pretensions,  into 
those  corruptions  of  Gospel  truth,  which  will  always,  from 
time  to  time,  be  found  arising  within  the  Church.  So  shall 
they  be  enabled  to  "take  up  the  serpents"  they  Avill  meet 


406  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

•with,  and  "  if  they  drink  any  deadly  tiling  it  shall  not  hurt 
them." 

The  fact  that  the  Scriptures  contain  things  hard  to  be 
understood,  is  no  reason  for  laying  them  aside,  but  a  very 
strong  one  for  taking  the  more  pains  to  understand  them. 

If  the  Scriptures  could  properly  be  understood  without 
any  trouble,  and  could  not  be  perverted  to  bad  purposes,  they 
would  be  extremely  unlike  the  rest  of  God's  gifts. 

As  the  laws  of  nature  are  in  themselves  invai'iable,  but 
yet  are  sometimes  imperfectly  known  and  sometimes  mistaken 
by  natural  philosophers,  so  the  Scriptures  are  intrinsically 
infallible,  but  do  not  impart  infallibility  to  the  student  of 
them.  To  complain  of  this,  —  to  reject  or  undervalue  the 
revelation  God  has  bestowed,  urging  that  it  is  no  revelation 
to  us,  or  an  insufficient  one,  because  unerring  certainty  is  not 
bestowed  also  —  because  we  are  required  to  exercise  patient 
diligence,  and  Avatchfulness,  and  candour,  and  humble  self- 
distrust, — this  would  be  as  unreasonable  as  to  disparage  and 
reject  the  bountiful  gift  of  eye-sight,  because  men's  eyes  have 
sometimes  deceived  them ;  —  because  men  have  mistaken  a 
picture  for  the  object  imitated,  or  a  mirage  of  the  desert  for 
a  lake ;  and  have  fancied  they  had  the  evidence  of  sight  for 
the  sun's  motion ;  and  to  infer  from  all  this  that  we  ought  to 
blind  ourselves,  and  be  led  henceforth  by  some  guide,  who 
pretends  to  be  himself  not  liable  to  such  deceptions. 

Peter's  implied  censure  of  those  who  are  unlearned  (that 
i?,  ill  acijuainted  uitli  truths  revealed  in  the  Bible),  and,  as 
will  naturally  follow,  "  unstable,"  and  likely  to  be  "blown 
about  with    every  wind    of   doctrine,"    should  operate  as  a 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  407 

caution,  not  against  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  but  against 
the  faults  which  would  lead  us  to  wrest  them  to  our  de- 
struction. 

Any  suggestion  or  persuasion  that  the  Scriptures  need  not 
be  read,  or  that  the  right  interpretation  of  them  requires  no 
diligent  care,  and  that  we  have  such  an  infallible  guide  with- 
in us,  or  that  some  boastful  pretender  has  such,  as  does 
away  the  necessity  of  candid,  humble,  patient  study  of  the 
Bible,  or  that  we  are  at  liberty  to  receive,  or  reject,  or  alter 
the  sense  of  each  passage,  in  conformity  with  what  seems  to 
our  minds  reasonable  or  not,  in  the  same  manner  as  when  we 
are  reading  the  work  of  any  human  writer ;  every  such  sug- 
gestion comes  from  the  proud  and  disobedient  spirit  who 
would  lead  us  to  imitate  his  presumptuous  rebellion.  Faith 
in  ourselves,  faith  in  the  pretensions  of  man,  are  the  very 
opposite  to  Christian  faith,  which  is  faith  in  God  only. 

If  we  receive  the  heavenly  light  of  God's  Word,  through 
the  discoloured  medium  of  our  own  prejudices  and  infirm- 
ities, its  rays  will  give  an  unnatural  tinge  to  everything  on 
which  they  are  shed,  confirming,  it  may  be,  preconceived 
notions,  or  leading  to  false  conclusions. 

To  find  in  a  passage  of  Scripture  an  argument  in  favour 
of  a  doctrine,  is  a  very  difierent  thing  from  finding  in  it  a 
revelation  of  the  doctrine. 

We  should  search  the  Scriptures,  not  to  defend  our 
opinions,  but  to  form  them ;  not  merely  for  argument  but  for 
truth. 

An  erroneous  doctrine  may  sometimes  spring  from  the  mis- 
interpretation of  a  text  of  Scripture,  oftener  the  misinterpre- 
tation from  the  doctrine. 


408  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHXnEGMS. 

It  is  one  thing  to  desire  to  have  Scripture  on  our  side,  and 
another  thing  to  desire  to  be  on  the  side  of  Scriptiu'e. 

The  passages  quoted  from  Scripture  in  behalf  of  some 
practice,  are  often  excuses,  and  not  reasons  for  it. 

Many  and  various  are  the  objections  (some  of  them  more 
or  less  plausible,  and  others  very  ■weak),  that  have  been 
brouglit  —  on  grounds  of  science,  or  supposed  science  — 
agninst  tlie  Mosaic  accounts  of  the  creation,  of  the  state  of 
the  early  world,  and  of  the  flood.  And  when  answering 
these  objections,  it  is  important  to  lay  down  the  principles 
on  which  either  the  Bible,  or  any  other  writing  or  speech, 
ought  to  be  studied  and  understood,  namely,  with  a  reference 
to  the  object  proposed  by  the  writer  or  speaker.  For  ex- 
ample, if  we  bid  any  one  proceed  in  a  straight  line  from  one 
place  to  another,  and  to  take  care  to  arrive  before  the  sun 
goes  down,  he  will  rightly  and  fully  understand  us  in  refer- 
ence to  the  practical  object  which  alone  we  had  in  view. 
Now  we  know  that  there  cannot  really  be  a  straight  line  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth ;  and  that  the  sun  does  not  really  go 
down ;  but  whether  the  other  party  knows  all  this  or  not, 
matters  nothing  to  our  present  object,  which  was  not  to  teach 
mathematics  or  astronomv,  but  to  make  him  conform  to  our 
directions,  which  are  equally  intelligible  to  the  learned  and 
the  unlearned. 

Now  the  object  of  the  Scripture  revelation  is  to  teach  men 
not  astronomy,  or  geology,  or  any  other  physical  science,  but 
Religion. 

In  what  relates  to  Divine  Revelations,  reason  should  be 
confined  to  those  two  points  :  —  1st,  to  judge  of  the  grounds 
on  which  any  professed  revelation  should  be  received  or  re- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  409 

jected,  as  being  "from  heaven  or  of  men;"  and,  2ndly,  to 
determine  what  it  is  that  "\ve  are  enabled  and  required  to 
learn  from  the  revelation  which  God  has  actually  given. 

Men  are  too  apt  to  treat  Scripture  as  the  poor  dupes  of 
Medea  did  their  aged  parent,  m  hopes  of  making  him  come 
out  of  the  cauldron  with  increased  vigour.  They  chop  it  up 
into  separate  texts,  and  stew  it  with  the  poisonous  Aveeds  of 
human  speculation,  in  hopes  of  their  producing  a  complete  and 
beautiful  body  of  divinity. 

The  object  of  revelation  is  to  teach  religion,  properly  so 
called,  Avhich  docs  not  consist  in  the  knowledge  of  human 
nature  in  itself,  or  of  the  divine  nature  in  itself,  but  in  the 
knowledge  —  and  the  practical  application  of  the  knowledge 
—  of  God  in  relation  to  man,  and  man  in  relation  to  God. 
To  go  beyond  this,  is  to  teach  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit, 
after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the  world 
and  not  after  Christ." 

It  is  an  important  general  rule  in  interpreting  Scripture, 
that  the  most  practical  interpretation  is  ever  likely  to  be  the 
truest.  In  the  precepts  as  well  as  the  parables  of  Scripture, 
it  is  to  the  practical  result  that  the  attention  is  intended  to 
be  directed.  For  instance,  this  is  the  case  even  in  the  precept 
to  "  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself;"  for  it  is  only  figuratively 
that  a  man  is  said  to  love  himself;  the  regard  which  he  has 
for  his  own  happiness  being  not  in  degree  merely,  but  in 
kind  very  diflfereut  from  any  benevolent  affections  towards 
another  ;  but  the  force  of  the  precept  is,  that  as  we  diligently 
seek  to  promote  our  own  welfare  without  having  any  further 
object  in  view,  so  we  ought  also  diligently  to  promote  the 
35 


410  :miscellaneous  apophthegms, 

welfare  of  others,  looking  to  nothing  beyond.     And  this  is 
practically  sutlicient. 

Amid  all  our  ignorance  and  wealcncss  Avhat  we  best  know 
is  our  duty. 

As  the  peasant  who  may  be  utterly  ignorant  respecting 
the  progress  of  germination  in  the  seed  which  he  sows,  the 
growth  of  the  plant  and  its  fructification,  may  yet  have 
practical  knowledge  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  prepare  the 
soil  for  the  seed,  to  raise  the  corn,  and  to  gather  in  the 
harvest ;  or  as  the  ancient  mariners  steered  their  course  in 
safety  by  those  heavenly  bodies  whoso  magnitude,  and 
distance,  and  motions  they  so  imperfectly  understood ;  so 
also  may  the  Word  of  God  be  a  lantern  to  our  steps,  and  "  a 
light  unto  our  path,"  even  though  we  may  have  but  a  very 
imperfect  understanding  of  the  divine  dispensation. 

If  none  of  the  doctrines  necessary  to  be  revealed  for  other 
practical  purposes,  Avere  of  sufficiently  mysterious  character 
to  serve  also  for  trials  of  faith,  humility,  and  candour,  in 
assenting  to  them  on  sufficient  grounds,  (a  purpose  which,  as 
producing  moral  results,  may  be  fairly  reckoned  a  Avorthy 
and  fit  purpose,  and  a  practical  one,)  we  might  then,  perhaps, 
expect  that  some  things  should  be  proposed  to  our  belief, 
solely  and  singly  for  this  latter  purpose.  But  if  both  objects 
can  be  fully  accomplished  by  the  same  revelation  —  if  our 
faith  be  sufficiently  tried  by  the  admission  of  such  mysterious 
doctrines  as  arc  important  for  other  practical  ends  also  — 
then  the  revelation  of  any  furllier  mysteries,  which  lead  to 
no  such  practical  end,  is  the  less  necessary,  and  consei[uently 
the  less  to  be  expected.  So  that  an  exclusively  practical 
character,  is  a  probable  mark  of  a  true  revelation. 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  411 

All  pretended  revelations  Avliich  have  been  the  basis  of 
distinct  religions,  and  all  corruptions  of  Christianity,  all 
systems  of  religion  —  whether  Pagan  or  Mahoraedan,  and  all 
modifications  of  our  own,  however  dissimilar  they  may  be  in 
other  respects,  however  they  may  differ  in  the  greater  or  less 
absurdity,  or  the  greater  or  less  immorality  of  tlicir  fables, 
legends  and  traditions  ;  in  the  number  of  them  or  the  degree 
of  credit  they  obtain  —  all  agree  in  this  one  general  charac- 
teristic, the  general  want  of  reference  to  human  conduct,  and 
in  the  leading,  or,  at  least,  one  leading,  object  being  to 
gratify  human  curiosity,  to  minister  to  that  desire  of  know- 
ledge for  its  own  sake  without  any  reference  to  its  utility, 
Avhich  is  obviously  a  part  of  our  nature.  An  ancient  writer 
who  well  understood  human  nature,  justly  observes  that 
things  hidden,  and  things  admirable,  are  what  men  espeoially 
covet  to  know.  Now  nothing  can  be  more  hidden,  nothing 
more  admirable  than  the  nature  and  the  works  of  God.  The 
origin  and  constitution  of  the  world  we  inhabit  —  of  man 
himself,  the  nature  of  angels  and  of  various  orders  of  beings 
which  may  exist,  superior  to  man,  —  and  of  the  Supreme 
Being  Himself;  each  of  these  subjects  suggests  innumerable 
matters  of  enquiry  whose  grandeur  fills  the  most  exalted,  and 
whose  difiiculty  baffles  the  most  intelligent  mind.  Again, 
nothing  could  have  been  more  deeply  interesting  than  minute 
details  of  everything  relating  to  the  life  of  our  great  Master, 
however  little  connected  with  his  ministry  —  such  as  his  per- 
sonal appearance,  his  domestic  habits,  and  all  particulars 
relative  to  his  parents.  Is  it  not  then  natural,  that  men 
should  eagerly  seek  for  some  superhuman  means  of  informa- 
tion on  subjects  so  interesting  to  their  curiosity,  and  so 
much  beyond  their  unaided  powers  ?  And  is  it  not  conse- 
quently to  be  expected,  that  both  the  devices  of  an  impostor, 
and  the  visions  of  an  enthusiast  should  abound  in  food  for 


412  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOPIITIIEGMS. 

this  curiosity  ?  ^Vhat  then  is  in  this  respect  the  character 
of  the  Christian  revelation  ?  It  stands  distinguished  from 
all  other  religions,  and  even  from  all  modifications  of  itself 
in  its  exclusively  practical  character,  and  its  omission  of 
everj^thing  that  would  serve  merely  to  pamper  vain  curiosity. 
We  have  in  the  contrast  thus  presented  in  the  wisdom  and 
dignified  simplicity  of  the  Scriptures  with  the  idle  and  arro- 
gant pretensions  of  human  fraud  and  folly,  a  plain  proof  that 
our  Scriptures  were  not  of  man's  devising,  that  no  impostor 
would,  and  no  enthusiast  could,  have  written  them.  Praised 
be  the  superhuman  wisdom  that  has  thus  proved  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Scriptures  !  for  what  cannot  have  come  from 
man  must  have  come  from  God. 

When  Paul  describes  the  Gospel  as  being  "  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness,"  he  supplies 
a  practical  rule  wherewith  to  test  any  representation  of  it. 
Whenever,  then,  such  a  representation  of  Christianity  is 
made,  as  would  not  have  been  a  "stumbling-block  to  the 
Jews,"  or  such  as  would  not  have  been  ''  foolishness  to  the 
Greeks,"  it  may  at  once  be  concluded  that  this  cannot  be  the 
Gospel  which  Paul  j^reached. 

He  who  would  be  of  those  who  (in  the  words  of  the  apostle 
Peter)  "  desire  as  new-born  babes  the  sincere  (unadulterated) 
milk  of  the  Word,  that  they  may  grow  thereby:"'  he  who 
would  learn  the  very  Gospel  which  the  apostles  taught,  just 
as  it  was  received  by  their  hearers,  must  in  heart  and  spirit 
accompany  the  simple  shepherds  in  their  visit  to  Bethlehem 
to  "see,"  not  what  human  ])hiIosophy  has  devised,  but — what 
"  the  Lord  hath  made  known  unto  us." 

Doctrines,  whether  true  or  false,  tliat  are  not  revealed  in 
Scripture,  can  constitute  no  part  of  the  Cliristian  faith  ;   and 


MISCELLANEOUS    ArOI'IITIlEOMS.  413 

those  who  teach  them  as  Gospel  trutlis  are  answerable  for  the 
effects  produced,  not  only  on  those  who  adopt  the  opinions, 
but  also  on  those  who  reject  them. 

The  question  concerning  the  Origin  of  Evil  is  left  by  the 
Scriptures  just  where  they  found  it.  They  neither  introduce 
the  difficulty,  as  some  weak  opponents  contend,  nor  account 
for  it,  as  is  imagined  by  some  not  less  weak  advocates  ;  who 
having  undertaken  to  explain  it,  and  having,  perhaps,  satis- 
fied themselves  and  others  that  they  have  done  so,  are  sure 
to  be  met  by  the  very  same  difficulty  re-appearing  in  some 
different  form ;  like  a  resistless  stream,  which  when  one  of 
its  channels  is  dammed  up,  immediately  forces  its  way  through 
another.  He  who  professes  to  account  for  the  existence  of 
Evil  by  tracing  it  up  to  the  first  evil  recorded  as  occurring, 
would  have  no  reason  to  deride  the  absurdity  of  an  atheist 
who  should  profess  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  human 
race,  by  simply  tracing  them  up  to  the  first  pair. 

It  is  a  folly  to  regard  the  difficulty  as  to  the  origin  of  Evil 
in  the  light  of  an  objection,  either  to  our  religion  or  to  any 
other ;  since  it  would  lie  equally  against  all,  as  indeed  it  does 
against  any  system  of  philosophy  likewise ;  for  the  ancient 
heathen  were  as  much  perplexed  with  doubts  as  to  the  origin 
of  evil  as  we  are.  Even  atheism  does  not  lessen,  it  only 
alters,  the  difficulty  ;  for  as  the  believer  in  a  God  cannot 
account  for  the  existence  of  evil,  so  the  believer  in  no  God 
cannot  account  for  the  existence  of  good ;  or,  indeed,  for 
anything  at  all  that  bears  marks  of  rational  design. 

The  Bible  acts    the  part  of  a  judicious    physician,  who, 
instead  of  entertaining  his  patients  with  a  long  and  curious 
dissertation  on  the  natur-e  and  origin  of  thoir  disease,  employs 
35* 


414  MISCELLANEOUS    APOl'IITUEGMS. 

himself  in  actively  administering  remedies,  and  teaching  them 
how  to  avoid  them.  Just  so  the  Apostle  Paul  docs  not 
attempt  to  explain,  e.  g.,  to  the  Athenians  the  cause  of  the 
principal  evil,  the  state  of  enmity  against  God,  and  exposure 
to  divine  displeasure,  but  proceeds  at  once  to  the  practical 
point  of  describing  the  evil,  and  offering  the  cure.  —  ''The 
times  of  this  ignorance  God  winketh  at ;  but  now  com- 
mandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent." 

To  distort  the  plain  meaning  of  Scripture,  for  the  sake  of 
defending  religion  against  unsound  objections,  is  to  expose  it 
to  more  powerful  ones,  which  we  have  left  ourselves  without 
the  means  of  answering. 

The  true  sense  of  each  word  is  that  which  is  understood 
by  it;  and  as  a  reader  will  naturally  conclude  a  writer's 
meaning  to  be  just  what  his  words  express  in  their  simple, 
ordinary,  and  obvious  sense,  (except  when  some  other  passage 
from  tlie  same  writer  is  produced,  shoAving  that  his  opinion 
was  something  different,)  so,  in  interpreting  Scripture,  we  are 
not  to  consider  what  sense  the  words  can  be  brought  to  bear, 
but  what  sense  they  actually  bore  to  the  very  hearers  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  which  we  may  be  sure  was  that  which 
they  meant  to  convey,  as  being  that  in  which  they  knew  that 
the  hearers  understood  them. 

The  interpretation  of  any  particular  word  occurring  in 
Scripture,  must  not  be  dwelt  upon  so  as  to  imply  that  each 
term  must  have,  like  one  of  the  technical  terms  of  any 
science,  exactly  the  same  meaning  in  every  passage  where  it 
is  employed.  Tlie  words  of  the  Sacred  Writers  are  popular, 
not  scientific. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  415 

What  ■was  to  the  early  Christians  of  plain  common  sense 
and  moderate  education,  the  natural  and  unstrained  sense 
of  the  writings  and  discourses  of  the  Apostles  and  Evange- 
lists, whose  Avorks  have  come  down  to  us,  as  what  we  should 
seek   to  understand   and  to   believe,  if  we  Avould  have    our 
faith  the  same    as    theirs.     If    later    Christians    had    been 
satisfied  humbly  to   pursue    this    study,  instead    of   human 
theories  ;  if  Christian  instructors  had  sought  to  fit  themselves 
to    explain,    not    those    things    concerning    God    which    the 
Scriptures  omit,  but  what  they  contain, —  not  what  God  has 
thought  fit  to  keep  secret,  but  what   He   has   revealed, — 
there  would  have  been   less  of  what  is  reckoned  abstruse 
theology,  but  more  of  pure  Christian  faith.     Had  they  all 
thus  honestly  relied  on  Scripture,  the  mysterious  doctrines 
of  our  religion  Avould  have  been  received  in  Christian  sim- 
plicity,   as    Scripture    reveals    them,    without    any   farther 
definitions  and  explanations  than  Scripture  itself  supplies  ; 
and  this  would  have  been  "  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  salva- 
tion, through  faith  Avhich  is  in  Christ  Jesus."     But  for  vain 
philosophical  systems  of  divinity,  heresies  would,  probably, 
not  have  been  multiplied  as  they  have  been.     This,  at  least, 
is  certain,  that  as  scientific  theories  and  technical  phraseology 
gained  ground,  party  animosity  raged  the  more  violently. 
Those  who  lose  sight  of  the  real  character  and  design  of  the 
Christian  revelation,  generally  lose  the  mild,  patient,  and 
forbearino-    spirit   of    the    Gospel.       "  The   servant    of  the 
Lord,"  says  the  Apostle,  "must  not  strive,  but  be  gentle 
unto   all  men,   in  meekness   instructing   those  t-liat    oppose 
themselves." 

Whenever  we  approach,  in  imagination,  the  mighty  Lord 
of  all  things,  humbled,  and  become  an  infant  lying  in  the 
mano-er,  we  should  be  reminded  to  "  desire  the  sincere  milk 


416  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

of  the  Word,  that  -vvc  may  grow  thereby  ;"  and  that,  receiv- 
ing "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  a  little  child,"  with  a  pure, 
and  humble,  and  teachable  mind,  we  may,  at  his  second  com- 
ing to  judge  the  world,  be  found  an  acceptable  people  in  his 
sight. 

So  limited  are  our  faculties  for  comprehending  things  as 
they  are  in  themselves,  that  did  not  the  Scriptures  present 
dim  and  faint  pictures  of  them,  they  could  not  otherwise  be 
revealed  at  all.  The  "  light  which  no  man  can  approach 
unto,"  if  presented,  in  unmitigated  blaze,  to  eyes  too  weak  to 
endure  it,  would  blind  instead  of  enlightening  ;  we  now  "see 
by  means  of  the  reflection  of  a  glass,"  what  we  could  not 
otherwise  see  at  all. 

As  analogy  is  the  resemblance  of  ratios  (or  relations),  two 
things  may  be  connected  by  analogy,  though  they  have  in 
themselves  no  resemblance  ;  thus  as  a  sweet  taste  gratifies 
the  palate,  so  does  a  sweet  sound  gratify  the  ear,  and  hence 
the  same  word,  "sweet,"  is  applied  to  both,  though  no 
flavour  can  resemble  a  sound  in  itself.  To  bear  this  in  mind 
would  serve  to  guard  us  against  two  very  common  errors  in 
the  interpretations  of  the  analogical  language  of  Scripture. 

1.  TIic  error  of  supposing  the  things  themselves  to  be 
similar,  from   their  bearing  similar  relations  to  other  things. 

2.  The  still  more  common  error  of  supposing  the  analogy  to 
extend  farther  than  it  does,  or  to  be  more  complete  than  it 
really  is,  from  not  considering  in  what  the  analogy  in  each 
case  consists. 

The  only  truth  essential  in  a  Parable,  is  the  truth  of  the 

moral  or  doctrine  contained  in  it. 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIITIIKGMS.  417 

Parables  commonly  use  the  analogy  the  most  remote  in 
all  points  but  the  one  to  be  illustrated,  on  purpose  to  guard 
against  follo^ying  out  analogy  too  far:  so  unjust  judge, 
unjust  steward,  unkind  neighbor,  asked  to  lend  three  loaves. 

The  picture  and  image  of  heavenly  things,  furnished  by 
the  analogical  language  and  the  types  and  figures  of  revela- 
tion, cannot  in  all  points  completely  correspond  with,  the 
original,  any  more  than  a  picture  can,  in  all  respects,  resem- 
ble the  solid  body  which  it  is  designed  to  imitate. 

To  interpret  too  literally  the  analogical  expression  Avith 
which  Scripture  teaches,  just  as  a  blind  man  is  instructed 
about  sight  and  the  objects  of  sight  by  com.paring  them  with 
the  other  senses  and  their  objects,  is  as  absurd  as  to  dissect 
a  statue  in  order  to  find  out  what  the  inside  of  a  man  is 
like. 

When  Paul  says,  respecting  the  glorified  state,  "  whether 
there  be  knowledge  it  shall  vanish  away,"  we  might  have 
expected  him,  perhaps,  to  promise  rather  an  increase  of  our 
knowledge ;  but  it  appeared  to  him,  probably,  that  the  know- 
ledge we  now  possess  concerning  several  points  not  fully 
comprehensible  to  us,  is  so  utterly  different  in  kind  from 
that  which  is  reserved  for  us,  that  the  change  might  more 
probably  be  called  an  entire  vanishing  of  the  notions  we  arc 
at  present  able  to  form,  and  a  substitution  of  others  in  their 
place ;  just  as  the  analogical  notions  of  seeing  a  blind  man 
had  formed,  would,  on  his  obtaining  sight,  fade  away,  and 
be  succeeded  by  others  incomparably  more  direct  and  clear. 

The  apparent  contradictions    in  the  doctrinal  and  moral 
precepts  of  Scripture  are  not  to  be  regarded  merely  as  dilli- 


418  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOPlITIIKGMS. 

cultics  to  be  surmounted,  but  as  a  mode  of  instruction 
})eculiar  to  it  —  tlie  employing  of  different  analogies,  each, 
severally,  serving  to  correct  the  otiier,  and  all,  jointly, 
conveying  a  notion  as  nearly  as  possible  approaching  the 
reality. 

The  liability,  so  prevalent  in  all  men,  to  imagine  that  a 
literal  obedience  to  certain  definite  precepts  is  all  that  is 
required,  is  guarded  against  by  the  mode  of  conveying  moral 
instruction  adopted  by  our  Lord.  First,  the  precepts  are 
often  apparently  contradictory  to  each  otiier ;  secondly,  they 
are  often  such  that  a  literal  compliance  Avould  be,  in  many 
cases,  either  impossible,  or  at  least  extravagant  and  irrational ; 
and  thirdly,  this  literal  compliance  would,  in  many  instances, 
amount  to  so  insignificant  a  point  of  duty,  as  could  not  be 
supposed  deserving  of  a  distinct  inculcation  for  its  own  sake. 
Men  are  thus  thrown  on  the  application  of  a  general  principle 
to  each  particular  case  ;  for  a  literal  compliance  with  precepts 
which,  literally  taken,  are  inco7isistcnt,  would  be  impossible  ; 
where  that  literal  com2)liance  Avould  be  wrong  or  absurd,  it 
is  manifest  it  could  not  be  intended;  where  it  would  be 
trijling,  it  is  manifest  that  it  cannot  be  all  that  is  intended. 

Two  apparently  opposite  passages  of  Scripture  may 
together  enable  us  to  direct  our  faith  or  our  practice  aright, 
as,  in  mechanics,  the  combined  effect  of  several  impulses  in 
various  directions  will  propel  a  body  in  tlie  direction  required. 

When  the  Mosaic  code  was  aboli.>hiMl,  the  Lord  and  His 
Apostles  did  not  substitute  in  its  place  any  otlu-r  system  of 
rules;  they  laid  down  Christian  principles  ;  they  sought  to 
implant  Christian  disjwsitwns.  And  this  is  the  more  remark- 
able, inasmuch,  as  we  may  be  sure,  from  the  nature  of  Man, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIITIIEflMS.  419 

that  precise  regulations,  even  though  somewhat  tedious  to 
learn  and  burdensome  to  observe,  would  have  been  highly 
acceptable  to  their  converts.  It  is  much  more  agreeable  to 
the  natural  Man  (though  at  first  sight  the  contrary  miglit  be 
supposed)  to  have  a  complete  system  of  laws  laid  down, 
which  are  to  be  observed  according  to  the  letter,  not  to  the 
spirit, — and  which,  as  long  as  a  man  adheres  to  them,  afford 
both  a  consolatory  assurance  of  safety,  and  an  unrestrained 
liberty  as  to  every  point  not  determined  by  them,  — than  to 
be  left  to  his  own  discretion,  no  restraint  being  so  irksome 
to  him  as  this,  while  still  required  to  regulate  his  conduct 
according  to  certain  principles,  and  to  steer  his  course 
through  the  intricate  channels  of  life,  with  an  incessant 
watchfulness  and  studious  exercise  of  his  moral  judgment. 

Accordingly,  most,  if  not  all  systems  of  Man's  devising 
(whether  corruptions  of  Christianity,  or  built  on  any  other 
foundation)  will  be  found,  even  in  what  appear  their  most 
rigid  enactments,  to  be  accommodated  to  this  tendency  of 
the  human  heart ;  when  Mahomet,  for  instance,  enjoined  on 
his  disciples  a  strict  fast  during  a  certain  period,  and  an 
entire  abstinence  from  wine  and  from  games  of  chance,  and 
the  devotion  of  a  precise  portion  of  their  property  to  the 
poor,  leaving  them  at  liberty,  generally,  to  follow  their  own 
sensual  and  worldly  inclinations,  he  imposed  a  far  less  severe 
task  on  them  than  if  he  had  required  them  constantly  to 
control  their  appetites  and  passions,  to  repress  covetousness, 
and  to  be  uniformly  temperate,  charitable,  and  heavenly- 
minded.  And  had  Paul  been  (as  a  false  teacher  alwa^^s  will 
be)  disposed  to  comply  Avith  the  expectations  and  wishes  which 
his  disciples  v.ould  naturally  form,  he  would  doubtless  have 
referred  them  to  some  part  of  the  Mosaic  Law  as  their 
standard  of  morality,  or  would  have  substituted  some  other 
system  of  rules  in  its  place.     Indeed,  there  is  strong  reason 


420  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

to  think  (especially  from  what  we  find  in  1st  Corinthians) 
that  P:)iil  had  been  applied  to  for  more  precise  rules  than  he 
was    willin<r  to    ;:ive.     After    such  brief   directions    as    the 
occasion  rendered  indispensable,  he  breaks  off  into  exhorta- 
tions to  "  use  this  world  as  not  abusing  it ;"  and  speedily 
recurs  to  the  general  description  of  the  Christian  character, 
and  the  inculcation  of  Christian  principles.     lie  will  not  be 
induced  to  enter  into  minute  details  of  things  forbidden  and 
permitted,  —  enjoined  and  dispensed  with ;  and  even  when 
most  occupied  in  repelling  the  suspicions  that  Gospel-liberty 
exempts    the  Christian    from  moral    obligation,  instead    of 
retaining  or  framing  anew  any  system  of  prohibitions  and 
injunctions,  he  urges  upon  his  hearers  the  very  consideration 
of  their  being  exempt  from  any  such  childish  trammels,  as  a 
reason  for  their  aiming  at  a  more  perfect  holiness  of  life,  on 
purer  and  more  generous  motives;  "  Sin,"  he  says,  "shall 
not  have  diminion  over  you :  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace;''  and  he  perpetually  incites  them  to  walk 
"worthy  of  their  vocation,"  on  the  ground  of  their  being 
"bought  with  a  pi'ice,"  and  bound  to  "live  unto  Him  who 
died  for  them;"  —  "as  risen  with  Christ"  to  a  new  life  of 
holiness, — exhorted  to  "  set  their  affections  on  things  above, 
not  on  things  on  the  earth  ;" — as  "  living  sacrifices"  to  God  ; 
—  as  "the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  called  upon  to  keep 
God's  dwelling-place  undefiied,  and  to  abound  in  all  "  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  and  as  "being  delivered  from  the  Law, 
that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  the  Spirit,  and  not  in  the 
oldness  of  the  letter."     These,  and  such  as  these,  are  the 
Bublimc  principles  of  morality  laid  down  by  Paul,  as  every- 
where in  Scripture,  into  a  conformity  with  which  the  Christian 
is  reciuired  to  fashion  his  heart  and  his  life,   through  that 
most  efiectual  aid  and  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  who 
will  enable  us  dady  to  profit  by  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of 


MISCELLANEOUS   Al'OPIITIIEGMS.  421 

Truth,  to  follow  the  example  of  Clirist,  and  to  purify  our- 
selves even  as  lie  is  pure ;  that  "  when  He  shall  appear,  we 
may  be  made  like  unto  Him,  and  may  behold  Him  as  He  is." 

There  arc  two  things,  each  of  which  he  will  seldom  fail  to 
diseover  who  seeks  for  it  in  earnest ;  the  one,  the  knowledge 
of  what  he  ought  to  do ;  and  the  other,  a  plausible  pretext 
for  doing  what  he  likes.  The  latter  of  these  the  carnally- 
minded  might  find  in  any  set  of  precepts  that  could  have 
been  framed,  the  former  the  spiritually-minded  will  not  fail 
to  obtain  in  the  Gospel. 

Wisely  designed  for  the  spiritual  exercise  and  training  of 
the  Christian's  mind  as  was  the  absence  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  a  precise  code  of  laws  and  the  substitution  of  sublime 
principles,  a  not  less  striking  instance  of  divine  wisdom  and 
goodness  is  presented  to  us  in  the  absence  of  all  formularies 
—  the  total  omission  of  Liturgies,  Catechisms  and  Creeds. 
Yet  all  these  things  we  are  sure  must  have  existed.  Now 
this  omission  is  a  fact  which  will  appear  the  more  remarka- 
ble, humanly  speaking,  the  more  the  subject  is  considered. 
It  is  on  all  natural  principles  unaccountable,  and,  indeed, 
incredible,  that  none  of  the  Apostles  should  have  committed 
them  to  writing,  or  any  of  their  numerous  fellow-labourers, 
hundreds  of  whom  must  have  been  quite  competent  to  the 
task,  which  would  have  been  merely  to  write  down  what  they 
heard,  and  once  written  they  would  be  eagerly  read,  carefully 
preserved,  and  copied.  Yet,  what  would  have  been  seemingly 
so  natural  and  so  easy  to  do  was  done  by  no  one.  This  or 
that  individual  might  have  been  prevented  from  doing  so  by 
accidental  circumstances ;  but  that  every  one  of  some 
hundreds  should  have  been  so  prevented  amounts  to  a 
complete  moral  impossibility.  And  as  the  drawing  up  of 
3G 


422  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOPIITIIEGMS. 

such  records  would  have  naturally  occurred  to  men  of  any 
nation,  situated  as  the  Apostles  and  their  companions  were, 
so  it  seems  doubly  strange  that  this  should  not  have  occurred 
to  Jeu'S,  —  to  men  brought  up  under  that  hxiv  which  pre- 
scribed, with  such  minute  exactness,  all  the  ceremonials  of 
their  worship,  all  the  articles  of  their  belief,  and  all  the  rules 
they  were  to  observe. 

There  is  no  mode  of  explaining  such  an  omission,  except 
by  concluding  that  the  apostles  and  their  attendants  were 
8upernaturaUy  restrained  from  drawing  up  any  such  canons, 
liturgies,  or  creeds.  And  this  conclusion  is  confirmed  by 
the  fact,  that  soon  after  the  age  of  inspiration,  and  when 
men  were  left  to  act  on  their  own  judgment,  they  did  draw 
up  such  Formularies,  several  of  which  have  come  down  to  us. 
We  have,  therefore,  in  this  omission  a  Monument  of  a 
Miracle.  The  Christian  Scriptures  are  in  themselves  a 
proof  of  their  having  been  composed  under  superhuman 
guidance ;  since  they  do  not  contain  what  we  may  be  sure 
they  would  have  contained,  had  the  writers  been  left  to 
themselves.  Every  argument  against  the  human  origin  of 
the  Christian  Scriptures  is  an  argument  in  favour  of  their 
divine  origin. 

And  the  argument  is  complete,  even  though  we  should  be 
quite  unable  to  perceive  the  reasons  for  this  ordinance  of 
Providence ;  but  it  is  not  difficult  to  discern  the  superhuman 
wisdom  of  tiie  course  adopted.  We  may  be  sure  that,  had 
the  Apostles  or  their  attendants  recorded  the  particulars  of 
their  own  worship,  their  forms  of  prayer,  and  their  ecclesi- 
astical regulations,  these  would  all  have  been  regarded  as 
parts  of  Scripture :  and  even  had  they  been  accompanied  by 
the  most  express  declaration  of  the  lawfulness  of  altering  or 
laying  aside  any  of  tiieni,  they  would  have  been,  in  practice, 
most  scrupulously  retained,  however  inappropriate  through 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIITIIECMS.  423 

changes  of  manners,  tastes,  and  local  and  temporary  cir- 
cumstances, they  might  have  become.  The  Jewish  ritual, 
designed  for  one  Nation  and  Country,  and  intended  to  be  of 
temporary  duration,  Avas  fixed  and  accurately  prescribed  : 
the  same  Divine  Wisdom  from  which  both  dispensations 
proceeded,  having  designed  Christianity  for  all  nations  and 
ages,  left  these  points  to  be  determined  according  to  tiie 
principles  which  had  been  distinctly  laid  down  by  divine 
authority;  while  the  application  of  those  principles  in 
particular  cases  was  left  (as  is  the  case  with  our  moral 
conduct  also)  to  the  responsible  judgment  of  Man. 

With  regard  to  catechisms,  again,  nearly  the  same  reasons 
will  hold  good.  For  though  the  Christian  religion  is  funda- 
mentally "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  yet  as 
it  is  impossible  that  any  one  mode  of  introducing  its  truths 
can  be  universally  appropriate,  they  would  have  been  like 
precise  directions  for  the  cultivation  of  some  plant,  admirably 
adapted  to  some  particular  soil  and  climate,  but  inapplicable 
in  those  of  a  contrary  description.  And  as  to  Creeds  or 
Confessions  of  faith,  these  are  (not  as  some  regard  them, 
summaries  of  the  most  intrinsically  important  points  of 
Christian  doctrine,  but)  such  compendiums  as,  standing 
opposed  to  the  particular  heresies  in  each  age  and  country 
respectively,  serve  to  test  the  professed  orthodoxy  of  those 
"who  adopt  them.  And,  therefore,  had  the  apostles  left 
Creeds  or  Symbols,  they  Avould  have  stood,  like  ancient  sea- 
walls, built  to  repel  the  encroachments  of  the  waves,  and 
still  scrupulously  kept  in  repair,  when  perhaps  the  sea  had 
retired  from  them  many  miles,  and  Avas  encroaching  on  some 
different  part  of  the  coast. 

But  supposing  such  a  summary  of  Gospel  truths  had  been 
drawn  up  and  contrived  with  such  exquisite  skill  as  to  be 
sufficient  and  Aveli  adapted  for  all,  of  every  age  and  country. 


424  MISCELLANEOUS    APOniTIIEGMS. 

what  would  liavc  been  the  result  of  its  being  provided  in 
Scripture?  Both  Avould  have  been  regarded,  indeed,  as  of 
divine  authority  ;  but  the  Couipendiuni,  as  the  fused  and 
purified  metal,  the  other  as  the  mine  containing  the  crude 
ore.  And  the  Compendium  itself,  being  not,  like  the  existing 
Scriptures,  that  from  which  the  faith  is  to  be  learned,  but 
the  very  thing  to  he  learned,  would  have  rendered  needless 
the  laborious  searching  of  the  rest  of  Scripture  to  ascertain 
its  agreement  with  a  human  exposition  of  the  faith ;  and, 
consequently,  would  have  left  no  room  for  that  excitement  of 
the  best  feelings,  and  that  improvement  of  the  heart,  which 
are  the  natural,  and  doubtless  the  designed  result  of  an  hum- 
ble, diligent,  and  sincere  study  of  the  Christian  Scriptures ; 
and  without  which  our  orthodoxy  would  be,  as  it  were,  petri- 
fied, like  the  bodies  of  those  animals  wo  read  of  incrusted  in 
the  ice  of  the  polar  regions  ;  firm-fixed,  indeed,  and  preserved 
unchangeable,  but  cold,  motionless,  lifeless. 

Proofs  of  any  doctrine,  obtained  by  a  bringing  together 
of  passages  fi'om  different,  and  apparently  unconnected,  parts 
of  the  sacred  Volume,  are  far  more  important  towards  con- 
viction than  those  derived  from  a  single  direct  statement. 
Occasionally,  one  text  affording  the  strongest  confirmation 
of  a  doctrine,  had  no  force  at  all  in  that  respect  until  com- 
pared with  another,  and  that  perhaps  with  a  third,  each  sepa- 
rately incapable  of  bearing  upon  the  point  in  question,  but 
all,  together,  composing  an  indissoluble  argument,  of  so  much 
the  more  force,  indeed,  as  it  precludes  the  possibility  of 
having  been  inserted  by  human  design.  The  proofs  from  a 
single  text  may  be  compared  to  a  jticce  of  precious  ore  found 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  which  we  cannot  be  sure  might 
not  have  been  droj)ped  by  some  chance  traveller  ;  the  other 
kind  of  proof,  to  the  same  ore  dug  witli  labour  from  a  mine, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  425 

which  is,  wc  may  be  confident,  derived  from  the  phice  -^herc 
we  found  it. 

All  instance  of  complex  proof  of  doctrines  from  the  colla- 
tion of  scattered  texts  of  Scriptm*e  might  be  the  comparison 
of  the  following  passages:  "  AJl  Scripture,"  says  St.  Paul  to 
Timothy,  "is  given  by  inspiration  of  God"  (2  Tim.  iii,  15, 
16),  and  is  "  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  Salvation,  through 
faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ;"  "of  which  salvation,"  says  St. 
Peter  (1  Peter  i.  10),  "  the  prophets  have  enquired  and 
searched  diligently — searching  what  or  what  manner  of  time 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify  —  unto 
whom  it  was  revealed,  that  unto  us  they  did  minister  the 
things  wliich  are  now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have 
preached  the  Gospel  unto  you,  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven  ;"  and  in  this  the  apostle  confirms  the  pro- 
mises in  St. John's  Gospel  (John  xiv.  26  ;  xv.  26  ;  xvi.  13) ; 
whilst  in  another  Epistle  he  declares  the  inspiration  of  the 
old  prophets  also  to  have  proceeded  from  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
"  For  the  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man  ; 
but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (2  Peter  i.  21).  It  is  only  in  combination  -vnth  each 
other,  that  these  passages  throw  light  upon  the  inspiration 
of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  by  the  same  Supreme 
Being ;  and  attest,  at  the  same  time,  the  unity  of  the  three 
persons  in  the  Divine  natui-e. 

How  admirable  do  the  provisions  of  Dinne  Wisdom 
appear,  even  from  the  slight  and  indistinct  views  we  obtain 
of  it !  It  has  supplied  to  us,  by  revelation,  the  knowledge 
of  what  we  could  not  have  discovered  for  ourselves :  and  it 
has  left  us  to  ourselves,  precisely  in  those  points  in  which  it 
is  best  for  us  that  we  should  be  so  left. 
36* 


426  MISCELLANEOUS   ArOPIITIIEGMS. 

The  division  into  chapters  and  verses,  whicli  vrere  intro- 
duced, merely  for  the  convenience  of  reference,  many  hundred 
years  after  the  sacred  Books  -Rcre  -written,  are  by  some 
persons  ijrnorantly  supposed  to  be,  like  the  chapters  in  modern 
books,  the  work  of  the  authors  themselves.  And  even  those 
who  do  not  fall  iinto  tliis  mistake,  are  led,  by  their  habit  of 
attending  to  those  divisions,  unconsciously  to  separate  in 
their  minds  passages  which,  in  sense,  are  closely  connected ; 
and  thus  to  break  up,  as  it  were,  the  sacred  books  into  dis- 
jointed fragments,  so  as  to  obscure,  and  often  pervert,  the 
meaning  of  the  WTiters.  One  instance,  among  many,  is  the 
disjoining  of  the  four  last  verses  of  the  nineteenth  chapter 
of  Matthew  from  the  first  sixteen  verses  of  the  twentieth. 

A  regular  paraphrase  of  Scripture  expands  every  passage, 
easy  or  hard,  nearly  to  the  same  degree  :  it  applies  a  magni- 
fying glass  of  equal  power  to  the  gnat  and  to  the  camel. 

Of  the  sacred  Writers,  no  two  write  precisely  alike. 
Though  all  of  them  Jews,  though  all  taught  one  and  the 
same  Gospel,  by  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  yet  the  variations 
of  individual  character  are  perceptible,  even  when  in  national 
character  they  all  agree. 

It  was  requisite  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  its 
purity,  and  for  the  edification  of  the  infant  Church,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  should  "  lead  the  apostles  into  all  (the)  truth,"  and 
should  pour  out  other  supernatural  gifts  on  other  Christians  ; 
so  far  therefore  did  his  infiuencc  extend.  But  it  was  not 
necessary  that  all  distinction  of  character  among  Christians 
should  be  done  away,  where  these  peculiarities  had  no  evil  in 
tliem  ;  or  that  similar  spiritual  gifts  slioidd  be  bestowed  on 
all.     Our  religion  was  designed  to  renew  indeed  and  amelio- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  427 

rate,  but  not  to  subvert,  our  nature,  — to  amend  mankind  in 
general,  but  not  to  contradict  the  essential  principles  of  the 
human  character,  —  to  exalt  and  purify  each  individual,  but 
not  to  destroy  his  individuality.  Here,  therefore,  tlie  diversity 
was  both  permitted,  and  even  augmented.  This  divine  work 
maybe  compared  to  that  which  took  place  "in  the  betnn- 
ning  ;"  "  God  saw  everything  that  lie  had  made,  and,  beliold, 
it  was  werj  good ;"  but  all  things  were  not  made  alike;  the 
variety/  in  the  creation  is  infinite. 

The  man  who  did  not  like  details  of  the  things  that  con- 
cerned his  friends  might  be  a  philanthropist,  but  could  hardly 
have  private  attachmments.  The  Gospel  records  meet  this 
feeling  of  our  nature,  being  not  merely  historical,  but  strictly 
biographical.  Brief  as  they  are,  they  are  fitted  to  introduce 
us  personally  to  Him  who  called  his  disciples  his  "friends." 

He  who  is  disposed  to  think  that  this  or  that  transaction 
which  we  find  in  the  Gospels,  is  not  of  sufficient  consequence 
to  deserve  a  very  attentive  study,  should  recollect  that  every 
one  we  do  find  there  is  one  out  of  a  thousand — is  selected  by 
the  writer,  as  being  peculiarly  striking,  out  of  all  that  was 
said  and  done,  during  the  short  but  most  momentous  period 
of  our  Lord's  life  on  earth.  We  are  to  consider,  not  merely 
why  such  and  such  an  occurrence  took  place,  but  why  it  was 
selected,  in  preference  to  a  hundred  others  that  were  passed 

by. 

Our  Lord's  miracles  maybe  said  to  be  acted  parables  ;  for 
not  only  are  they  designed  to  answer  their  first  and  most 
important  purpose,  the  proof  of  his  divine  authority,  and  the 
other  purpose  of  the  immediate  relief  of  suffering,  but  they 
also  conveyed  some  figurative  representation  of  his  character 


428  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

and   office,  an  exhibition  of  some  emblem  or  token  of  tlie 
Gospel  and  its  effects. 

An  interpretation  of  actions  as  symbolical,  that  is,  as 
conveying  an  instructive  meaning,  is  (in  Scripture)  so  far  from 
being  a  fanciful  departure  from  the  plain  literal  sense  of  what 
we  find  there,  that  it  is  in  fact,  keeping  to  the  established 
meaning  of  the  language  ordinarily  employed  by  the  sacred 
writers.  To  speak  by  significant  actions,  may  be  called  a 
part  of  the  language  of  the  prophets  and  other  sacred 
writers,  with  which,  of  course,  the  Jews  were  familiar.  For 
instance,  the  mode  of  conveying  the  prophecy  to  Jeroboam ; 
and  the  prophesying  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  during  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives  more  by  symbolical  actions  than 
by  words.  Thus,  also,  Jesus  teaches  his  disciples  humility, 
by  placing  a  little  child  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  by  washing 
their  feet ;  and  most  of  his  miracles  are  explained  by  Him, 
as  having  an  instructive  meaning. 

The  miracle  at  the  marriage  at  Cana  had,  as  from  being 
the  first  miracle  performed  by  our  Lord,  it  might  be  expected 
to  have,  a  more  extensive  and  important  signification  than 
any  of  the  rest ;  — was  not  merely,  like  the  rest,  significant 
of  some  jmrticular  doctrine,  but  generally  expressive  of  Ilis 
u'hole  Gospel, —  of  the  great  object  of  Ilis  coming  into  the 
world. 

To  perceive  the  symbolical  character  of  the  opening 
miracle  of  our  Lord,  its  circumstances  (remarkable,  were  it 
only  for  the  minute  details  thought  worthy  of  being  recorded 
by  writers  who  are,  on  the  whole,  so  scanty  and  concise), 
must  be  attentively  considered,  together  with  several  other 
tircumstauces  in  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  ex- 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  429 

pression  used  by  Himself  and  His  Apostles  relative  to  these 
events. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  water  which  our  Lord  con- 
verted into  wine,  was  put,  by  his  command,  into  those  water- 
pots,  which  were  designed  for  the  purpose  of  ceremonial 
pui'ification  by  washing,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Jewish 
religion :  which  rites,  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  contrasting 
them  with  the  real  and  efficacious  purification  througli  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  calls  "carnal  ordinances."  As  Jesus 
might  as  easily,  after  having  directed  the  servants  to  bring 
water  in  their  other  vessels,  have  converted  that,  at  once, 
into  wine,  and  sent  it  to  the  governor  of  the  feast,  he  doubt- 
less adopted  this  particular  mode  of  performing  the  miracle, 
to  indicate  that  He  was  come  to  substitute  the  Grospdfor  the 
law, — to  do  away  the  Old  Dispensation  of  outward  ceremonial 
cleansings,  and  to  put  in  their  place  the  true  atonement  and 
expiation  of  his  great  sacrifice  which  "  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world."  For,  as  the  water  which  was  placed  in  vessels 
intended  for  purification,  was  aptly  chosen  by  Him  to  repre- 
sent the  whole  of  the  ceremonial  law,  so  it  is  to  be  observed 
in  the  next  place,  that  wine,  into  which  the  water  was  changed, 
represented  the  blood  of  Christ,  being  the  symbol  of  it  which 
He  Himself  appointed  at  the  last  supper;  saying,  "Drink 
ye  all  of  this,  for  this  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testament 
which  is  shed  for  many."  And  again,  "  My  flesh  is  meat  in- 
deed, and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed  ;"  signifying  by  this,  as  he 
tells  us,  his  life,  which  he  ofiered  up  for  the  redemption  of  the 
woi-ld.  "  For  the  blood,"  says  Moses,  "is  the  life,  and  I  have 
given  it  upon  the  altar  to  be  an  atonement  for  your  souls.;" 
that  is,  for  your  lives  ;  the  blood  being  the  sjnnbol  of  life.  And 
thus  too  Paul,  "  The  cup  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  com- 
munion "  (that  is,  joint  participation)  "  of  the  blood  of  Christ  ?"' 
The  allusions,  accordingly,  in  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 


430  MISCELLAXEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

to  the  purifying  and  sanctifying  influence  of  the  blood  of 
Christ,  on  all  who  have  a  livel}'  faith  in  Him,  are  innumerable. 
Peter  addresses  Christians  as  "  elect,  through  sanctification 
of  the  Spirit  unto  obedience  and  sprinJclinfj  of  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ."  "If  we  walk  in  the  light,"  says  John,  "  wc 
have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  And  the  same  Apostle  was 
told,  concerning  the  blessed  whom  he  saw  in  his  vision  clothed 
in  white  robes,  "  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

II.  Jesus  did  not  (as  he  might  have  done)  cause  wine  to 
appear  in  vessels  which  were  empty,  nor  direct  that  the 
water  should  be  cast  away,  and  then  replenish  the  vessels 
with  wine ;  but  He  changed  the  water  into  wine ;  thus 
indicating  that  He  "  came  not  (as  He  Himself  tells  us)  "  to 
destroy  the  law  and  the  pi'ophets,  but  to  fulfil  them."  He 
did  not  cast  away  and  abolish,  as  something  evil  in  itself,  or 
wanting  in  divine  authority,  the  system  of  Jewish  rites  and 
sacrifices ;  but  He  changed  them  for  that  which  they  signi- 
fied, and  foreshowed, — even  the  Gospel.  He  substitutes  the 
substance  for  the  shadow,  and  brought  the  types  to  an  end 
by  putting  in  their  stead  the  thing  typified;  "the  blood,"  as 
Paul  expresses  it,  "of  the  everlasting  covenant,"  that  is,  of 
that  which  was  not,  like  the  Mosaic,  to  come  to  an  end,  and 
be  superseded  by  another,  but  was  to  last  for  ever.  And 
since  "  the  law,"  as  Paul  says,  "is  holy  and  just,  and  good," 
it  was  fitting  that  what  was  chosen  to  represent  it  should  not  be 
anything  of  a  vile  or  impure  nature,  though  it  were  changed, 
— and  changed  for  something  more  precious.  Accordingly, 
the  water  on  which  Christ  wrought  this  miraculous  change, 
is  a  thing  clear  indeed,  and  pure  and  refreshing,  but  was 
converted  into  wine,  which  is  invigorating  and  refreshing, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  431 

and  Avliich  was  therefore  ordained  by  our  Lord  as  a  token, 
a  pledge,  and  a  means  of  receiving  the  spiritual  benefit  of  his 
sacrifice.  Whenever,  therefore,  we  see  the  sacramental  cup 
filled  for  us  in  commemoration  of  Christ's  death,  and  accord- 
ing to  his  holy  Institution,  we  sliould  remember  that  He 
deigned  to  sanctify  that  fruit  of  the  vine,  not  only  in  the 
last  (before  He  sufiered),  but  in  the  first  remarkable  manifes- 
tation of  Himself  to  his  Disciples ;  and  that  he  who  once 
changed  the  water  into  wine,  literally,  is  able  and  is  ready 
now,  by  an  inward  and  spiritual  working  of  the  same  divine 
power,  to  change  the  outward  sign  of  partaking  of  the  cup, 
into  the  partaking  of  his  atoning  sacrifice,  and  receiving  of 
His  Holy  Spirit  into  our  souls,  of  which  spirit-his  flesh  and 
blood  are  themselves  the  sign ;  for  "it  is  the  Spirit,"  says 
He  "that  giveth  life  ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing." 

III.  The  introduction  of  a  change  of  the  Mosaic  Law  for 
something  far  more  excellent,  was  not  only  unexpected  by 
the  Jews  (notwithstanding  the  express  declarations  of  their 
Prophets)  but  unacceptable  and  matter  of  oflfence  to  them. 
This  circumstance,  therefore,  —  the  reservation  of  the  more 
glorious  dispensation  for  the  time  of  the  Lord's  own  coming, 
— was  not  left  unnoticed  among  the  significant  circumstances 
which  accompanied  this  remarkable  miracle.  It  was  inti- 
mated in  the  mystical  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  governor 
of  the  feast  (not  understood  by  himself)  when,  expressing  his 
surprise,  he  says,  "  Every  man  at  the  beginning  doth  set 
forth  good  wine,  and  when  men  have  well  drunk,  then  that 
which  is  worse  ;  but  thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until  now.'' 

IV.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  symbols  of  both  our 
Lord's  Sacraments  were  present  on  the  occasion  of  this  his 
first  miracle,  —  water,  by  which  Ho  himself  had  just  before 
been  baptized,  and  which  He  chose  as  the  emblem  of  the 
spiritual  cleansing,  and  purifying  efiicacy  of  the  Holy  Spirit 


432  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

(:is  was  indicated  bj  the  visible  appearance  of  the    Spirit 
descending  on  Him  on  that  occasion),  and  wine,  the  appointed 
emblem  of  his  blood  ;  and  into  tvhich  the  water  was  changed, 
to  point  out  that  it  is  through  his  sacrifice  that  we  are  made 
partakers  of  the  spiritual  purification  which  Baptism  denotes. 
y.    Again,  there    are    in    the    Sacred  WritBrs    perpetual 
allusions  to  the  union  between  Christ  and  the  Church  (of 
Avhich   lie  is  the  Head),  under  the  figure  of  a  marriage ;  to 
denote  the  afiectionate  regard  which  He  bears  towards  this 
his    spouse,  his  watchful  protection  and  constant  presence 
with  her  ('"lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world"),  and  also  the  spotless  purity  and  devoted  love 
which  He  looks  for  from  her.     In  many  of  his  parables.  He 
alludes  to  Himself  under  the  character  of  a  Bridegroom ; 
and  often  describes  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  by  the  parable 
of  a  wedding  feast.     And  as  there  can  be  no  doubt,  I  think, 
that  in  so  doing  He  alluded  to  this  His  mystical  union  with 
the  Church,  Avhich  was  afterwards  to  be,  by  His  Apostles,  so 
strongly  dwelt  upon,  and  set  forth,  under  that  figure ;  so  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  our  Lord  had  in  view  Avhcn  Ho 
chose  a  marriage-feast  for  the  scene  of  this  most  significant 
miracle,    His    own   marriage    wuth    the    Church,   which    He 
"purchased  for  Himself,"  and  sanctified  with  his  own  blood; 
with  Avhom,  hereafter,  in  her  glorified  and  triumphant  state  in 
heaven.  He  will  celebrate  anew  his  mystical  union,  according 
to    the  vision    seen    by  John  in  the    Revelations  (the  very 
apostle  who  records  the  marriage  at  Cana) ;   "  Let  us  be  glad 
and  rejoice,  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his 
wife  hath  made  herself  ready  ;  and  to  her  was  granted  that 
she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white ;  for  the 
fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  the  saints.     And  he  saith 
unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  unto  the 
marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb." 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  433 

The  Law  and  the  Gospel,  like  the  flower  and  the  fruit  of  a 
plant,  correspond  in  almost  every  point,  but  coincide  in  very 
few. 

Many  arc  the  points  in  which  '^  tlie  law  was  our  school- 
master to  bring  us  unto  Christ;"  and  many  an  error  pre- 
vailing among  Christians  might  be  cured,  if  they  would  l)ut 
diligently  listen  to  the  voice  of  this  schoolmaster,  and  profit 
by  the  lessons,  which  the  Old  Testament,  if  rightly  under- 
stood, is  capable  of  affording. 

It  appears  to  have  been  part  of  the  design  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation  to  exhibit  to  mankind  a  sensible  specimen,  or 
rather  representation,  by  way  of  proof,  of  that  moral  govern- 
ment of  God,  the  system  of  which  is  but  imperfectly  displayed 
in  the  world  at  large ;  and  which  is  to  be  completed,  and 
fully  realized,  only  in  a  future  state.  Without  entering  into 
a  full  explanation  and  defence  of  this  hypothesis,  let  it  be 
allowed  to  adopt  for  the  present  the  supposition,  merely  as  a 
supposition,  that  the  Mosaic  dispensation  Avas,  in  part, 
designed  for  the  purpose  just  mentioned ;  that  Ave  may 
examine  how  far  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  that  dispensa- 
tion correspond  Avith,  and  are  explained  by,  it.  1.  It  Avould 
manifestly  be  necessary  then,  Avith  a  vicAV  to  the  object  in 
question,  that  the  Israelites  should  be  exhibited  as  uniformly 
and  regularhj  rcAvarded  or  punished,  according  to  their 
obedience  or  disobedience  to  the  diA^ne  commands.  2.  And 
moreover,  in  order  that  the  correspondence  of  their  situation 
with  their  conduct  might  be  more  conspicuously  displayed,  it 
was  necessary  that  they  should  be  nationally  as  well  as  indi- 
vidually prosperous  or  unfortunate,  in  consequence  of  their 
good  or  ill  conduct ;  since  the  fate  of  indiAdduals  would  have 
been  too  obscure  to  engage  general  attention.  3.  It  was 
87 


434  MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS. 

requisite,  for  the  same  reason,  that  the  "obedience  required  of 
them  should  not  consist  in  moral  rectitude  alone ;  because  in 
that  case  the  correspondence  of  their  circumstances  to  their 
behaviour  ^vould  not  have  been  sufTicientl}^  manifest.  For 
moral  virtue  consists,  chiefly,  in  purity  of  motives,  and 
propriety  of  inward  feelings ;  concerning  which  other  men 
cannot  with  any  certainty  form  a  judgment.  It  was  requi- 
site, therefore,  that  their  obedience  should  be  tried  in  the 
practice  of  external  rites,  and  in  a  conformity  to  certain 
jwsitive  ordinances.  For  these  observances,  though  originally 
matters  of  indifference,  assume  a  moral  character,  and 
become  duties  when  enjoined  by  divine  authority ;  and  the 
obedience  or  disobedience  of  a  People  on  such  points,  is  a 
matter  open  to  general  observation,  and  one  which  no  one 
would  be  liable  to  mistake.  4.  Lastly,  with  the  same  view, 
it  was  no  less  requisite  that  th-e  rewards  and  punishments 
also,  which  should  be  the  sanction  of  such  a  law,  should  be 
of  a  nature  no  less  palpable,  and  open  to  general  observation ; 
and  should  therefore  not  consist  in  anything  iuAvard  and 
invisible,  as  in  peace  of  mind,  and  in  horrors  of  conscience ; 
nor  in  the  hopes  and  fears  of  a  future  state  ;  but  in  the 
immediate  and  conspicuous  distribution  of  outward  worldly 
prosperity  and  adversity. 

The  close  correspondence,  in  all  points,  of  the  dispensation 
actually  given,  with  the  foregoing  description,  is  no  slight 
presumption  that  the  object  of  that  dispensation  was,  in  part 
at  least,  such  as  I  have  supposed,  viz.,  to  exhibit  to  mankind, 
(to  those,  that  is,  who  should  be,  in  early  times,  neighbours 
to  the  Israelites,  or  have  any  intercourse  with  them,  and 
subsequently  to  us,  and  to  all  others  who  should  read  their 
history,  and  view  their  present  fate,)  to  exhibit,  I  say,  a 
striking  picture  of  God's  moral  government, — to  convince  all 
men  of  his  superintending  providence, — and  to  instruct  them 


MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS.  435 

in  the  principles  of  justice,  by  Avhicli  liis  dealings  Avitli  them 
"vvlll  be  regulated. 

Nor  is  it  any  valid  objection  to  the  explanation  here  offered, 
to  say,  that  the  national  blessings  and  national  chastisements 
sent  upon  the  Israelites,  as  a  people,  independent  of  what 
was  enjoyed  or  suffered  by  individuals,  could  be  no  inataiice 
of  the  divine  administration  o^  justice  ;  inasmuch  as  a  nation, 
.considered  as  a  nation,  is  no  real  personal  agent,  nor  capable 
of  reward  or  punishment.  For  though  it  cannot  properly  be 
said  to  afford  an  instance  or  example  of  God's  moral  govern- 
ment, it  may  nevertheless  serve  equally  well  to  furnish  a 
figure  and  representation  of  that  government  for  our  instruc- 
tion, which  is  the  object  we  have  been  supposing  de- 
signed. Its  not  being  really  a  distinct  Being,  does  not  render 
it  the  less  fit  for  that  purpose ;  since  men  are  able  to  form  a 
distinct  conception  of  it ;  which  is  all  that  is  requisite.  A 
sufficient  knowledge  respecting  a  country  may  be  obtained 
from  a  map,  although  that  consists  of  paper  and  ink,  and 
the  other  of  land  and  water. 

In  fact  there  are,  throughout  the  Mosaic  law,  innumerable 
cases  in  which  representations  or  figures  are  given  of  the 
divine  justice  which  cannot  be  regarded  as  themselves  in- 
stances of  it.  There  are  for  example  many  occasions  on 
which  beasts  are  commanded  to  be  put  to  death,  as  if 
criminal ;  as  when  a  beast  approached  the  holy  mountain,  or 
occasioned  the  death  of  any  man ;  not  that  a  brute  can  be 
supposed  a  moral  agent,  and  in  itself  a  fit  object  of  divine 
punishment ;  but  yet  the  lessons  of  justice,  of  reverential 
piety,  and  of  purity,  which  were  by  this  means  conveyed, 
were  not  the  less  intelligible.  Thus  a  lamb  Avithout  bodily 
blemish  could  have  no  real  and  intrinsic  merit  in  the  sight 
of  God,  but  the  sacrifice  of  this  represented  the  meritorious 
sacrifice  of  Christ.     The  same  remark  applies  to  the  othiT 


436  MISCELLANEOUS    APOl'HTHEGMS. 

types,  figures,  representations,  in  the  Jewish  ritual,  of  the 
various  parts  of  that  more  perfect  and  final  dispensation, 
whereof  we  enjoy  the  reality. 

So  far  were  Christian  ministers  from  heing  instructed  hy 
their  divine  Monitor  to  keep  the  Old  Testament  out  of  sight, 
that  there  is  no  point  more  strenuously  and  uniformly  insisted 
on,  than  the  connexion  of  the  Okl  and  New  Dispensations. 
Even  in  those  places  in  whicli  the  great  majority  of  the 
Christian  brethren  being  converted  Gentiles,  it  might  have 
been  supposed  that  the  Old  Testament  would  have  been  but 
little  studied  or  thought  of,  Paul  was  so  far  from  allowing 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  to  be  depreciated,  tliat  he  seems  to 
have  expected  in  all  his  converts,  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  Old  Testament ;  and  to  have  earnestly,  and  not 
unsuccessfully,  inculcated  the  necessity  of  interpreting  the 
one  scheme  by  the  other,  as  tAvo  parts  of  one  great  whole, 
and  of  considering  "  whatsoever  things  were  written  afore- 
time as  written  for  their  learning."  And  the  frequent 
allusions  he  makes  to  them  as  familiar  to  his  hearers,  and 
of  acknowledged  value  in  their  eyes,  convey  his  judgment 
on  the  subject  far  more  strongly  than  so  many  direct  admo- 
nitions ;  they  indicate  what  was  the  early,  tlie  habitual,  and 
the  universal  mode  of  instruction  employed  by  himself  and 
all  the  Christian  'teachers.  No  Christian,  therefore,  who 
would  copy  the  pattern  of  this  inspired  teacher  will  leave  the 
Old  Testament  out  of  sight ;  but  will  learn  from  him  that  the 
former  dispensation  must  be  carefully  attended  to  by  one 
who  would  rightly  understand  the  Gospel. 

lie  who  studies,  and  leads  others  to  study,  the  whole  Word 
of  God,  as  his  inspired  servants  have  left  it,  has  at  least  gocul 
reason  to  hope,  that  he  and  they  maif,  tln'ough  God's  spirit, 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTHEGMS.  437 

attain  truth  without  error ;  whereas  he  who  confines  himself 
to  a  part  of  the  Scriptures,  is  sure  to  be  Avrong,  and  to  lead 
others  wrong  if  they  are  guided  by  him. 

An  ambiguity  in  the  word  "  Gospel,"  is  deserving  of  notice, 
as  it  has  been  the  source  of  much  evil  in  leading  to  the 
neglect  of  the  apostolic  epistles.  The  word,  which  signifies 
according  to  its  etymology,  as  well  as  the  Greek  term  of 
which  it  is  a  translation,  "good  tidings,"  and  is  thence 
applied  especially  to  the  joyful  intelligence  of  salvation  for 
fallen  man  through  Christ,  has  come  to  be  applied,  naturally 
enough,  to  each  of  the  histories  of  the  life  of  Him,  the  Author 
of  that  salvation.  Hence  men  are  frequently  led  to  seek 
exclusively,  or  principally,  in  those  histories  for  an  account 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  for  where  should 
they  look,  they  may  say,  for  "Gospel-truth,"  but  in  the 
"Gospels?"  And  because  it  is  said  that  our  Lord  preached 
the  Gospel,  many  are  led  to  look  to  Ids  discourses  alone,  or 
principally,  as  the  store-house  of  divine  truth  to  the  neglect 
of  the  other  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament.  But  "  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom"  which  He  preached  was,  that  the 
'•  Kingdom  of  Heaven  was  at  hand,"  not  that  it  was  actually 
established,  which  was  the  Gospel  preached  by  his  Apostles, 
when  Christ  "having  been  made  perfect  through  suflerings," 
having  laid  the  keystone  of  the  Gospel  scheme  of  salvation, 
in  his  meritorious  sacrifice,  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  and  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  had  entered  into  his  Kingdom — 
had  "ascended  on  high,  and  led  captive"  the  Oppressor  of 
men,  and  had  "received  gifts"  to  bestow  upon  them.  Our 
Lord's  discourses,  therefore,  while  on  earth  —  thougli  they 
teach,  of  course,  the  truth — do  not  teach,  nor  could  have  been 
meant  to  teach,  the  ivhole  truth  as  afterwards  revealed  to  bis 
disciples.  They  could  not,  indeed,  even  consistently  with 
87* 


438  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOPIIT^EGMS. 

truth,  have  contained  the  main  part  of  what  the  apostles 
preached,  because  that  was  chiefly  founded  on  events  which 
had  not  then  taken  place.  lie  did  indeed  hint  at  these  events 
in  his  discourses  to  his  disciples,  and  to  them  alone,  by  way 
of  prophecy;  but  we  arc  told  that  "the  saying  was  hid  from 
them,  and  they  comprehended  it  not,  till  after  that  Christ 
was  risen  from  the  dead."  Had  our  Lord's  discourses  con- 
tained a  full  account  of  the  Christian  faith,  there  would  have 
been  no  need  of  his  saying,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say 
unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  Ilowbeit  when  He, 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come.  He  will  guide  you  into  all  (the) 
truth."  And  when,  through  inspiration  from  on  high,  the 
apostles  did  understand  the  Gospel,  the  true  character  of  the 
redemption,  and  of  the  faith  by  which  we  must  partake  of  it, 
they  taught  its  doctrines  in  their  discourses  and  in  their 
epistles.  Our  chief  source  of  instruction,  then,  must  be  in 
the  Apostolic  Epistles.  They  contain  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  as  far  as  they  have  been  revealed  to  men ;  furnishing 
us  with  the  means,  by  a  careful  and  diligent  study  of  those 
precious  remains,  of  attaining  sufficient  knowledge  of  all 
necessary  truth,  and  of  becoming  "  wise  unto  salvation, 
through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

To  confine  attention  to  the  four  gospels,  as  containing  all 
important  truth,  and  to  neglect  or  explain  away  the  remainder 
of  the  New  Testament,  is  to  act  like  one  who  should  destroy 
and  reject  as  spurious  excrescence  every  part  of  the  fruit  of 
a  tree  which  was  not  fully  developed  in  the  blossom  that 
preceded  it. 

The  most  precious  part  of  the  treasure  of  Christian  doctrine 
contained  in  the  e])istles  we  have  from  the  pen  of  the  apostle 
Paul.    Those  who  prize  the  purity  of  the  Gospel  should  value 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPHTIIKGMS.  4.00 

his  writings  tlie  more,  as  there  is  no  one  of  the  Sacred 
Writers  whose  expressions  liavc  been  so  tortured,  whose 
authority  has  been  set  so  much  at  naught  as  Paul's,  by  those 
who  reject  many  of  the  most  characteristic  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel ;  which  is  a  plain  proof  that  they  find  him  a  formida- 
ble opponent ;  not,  indeed,  as  the  only  authority  for  these 
great  truth?,  but  as  particularly  full  and  clear  in  enfwcing 
them.  The  Mahometans  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  four  Gospels,  though  they  pretend  the  Christians  have 
interpolated  them,  hold  the  name  of  Paul  in  detestation.  And 
besides  the  especial  hatred  of  his  writings  by  infidels,  and  by 
some  description  of  heretics,  no  part  of  the  Scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament  has  been  so  unjustly  neglected  by  some 
Christians,  and  so  much  perverted  by  others. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  objection  to  Paul's 
,writings  is  not  from  the  "things  hard  to  be  understood" 
which  they  contain,  but  from  the  things  easy  to  be  under- 
stood, the  doctrines  so  plainly  taught  by  him  that  "  by  grace 
we  are  saved  ;"  that  "the  ivages  of  sin  is  death,  but  eternal 
life  is  the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ ;"  that  our  most 
perfect  righteousness  can  never  enable  us  to  claim  reward 
at  the  hand  of  God,  nor  our  own  unaided  strength  enable  us 
to  practise  that  righteousness ;  but  that  the  meritorious 
sacrifice  of  Christ  is  the  only  foundation  of  the  Christian's 
hope ;  and  the  aid  of  his  Spirit,  the  only  support  of  the 
Christian's  virtue.  It  is  on  account  of  these  doctrines  that 
Paul's  writings  are  objected  to,  because  they  are  humbling 
to  the  pride  of  the  human  heart,  and  therefore  unacceptable 
to  the  natural  man. 

There  appears  to  be  a  very  remarkable  analogy  between 
the  treatment  to  which  Paul  was  himself  exposed  during  hia 


440  MISCELLANEOUS    ArOniTIIEGMS. 

personal  ministry  on  earth,  and  that  Avliich  liis  writings  have 
met  "witli  since.  In  both  he  stands  distinguislicd  in  many 
points  among  tlic  preachers  of  the  Gospel ;  and  it  is  possible 
that  this  distinction  may  in  some  Avay  be  connected  with  the 
peculiar  manner  in  "which  he  became  one  of  that  number. 
The  same  Apostle  who  had  been  originally  so  bitter  a  perse- 
cutor of  the  Christians,  was  exposed  after  his  conversion,  to  a 
greater  variety  of  afflictions  in  the  gospel-cause  than  any  of 
the  others. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  his  Lord  designed  thus  to  place  him 
foremost  in  fight,  thus  to  assign  to  him,  both  the  most 
hazardous  and  also  the  most  harassing  and  distressing  offices 
in  the  Christian  ministry,  on  account  of  his  having  once  been 
a  blasphemer  and  persecutor.  Not  as  a  punishment,  or  again 
that  he  might  atone  and  make  compensation  for  his  former 
sin  (which  no  man  can  do) ;  but  that  he  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  completely  retracing  his  steps,  and  of  feeling 
that  he  did  so  ;  that  he  might  display  a  zeal,  and  firmness, 
and  patience,  and  perseverance,  above  all  the  rest,  in  the 
cause  which  he  had  onoe  oppressed ;  that  by  having  his  own 
injurious  treatment  of  Christians  continually  brought  to  his 
mind  by  what  he  himself  endured,  he  might  the  more  deeply 
and  deliberately  humble  himself  before  God  for  it ;  that  he 
might  find  room  to  exercise  in  his  dealings  with  unbeJievers, 
all  that  full  knowledge  of  the  perverse  prejudices  of  the 
human  mind,  with  Avhich  his  own  memory  would  furnish  him 
by  reflecting  on  his  own  case ;  and,  finally,  that  both  he  and 
the  other  Apostles  might  feel  that  he  Avas  placed  fully  on  a 
level  Avith  them,  notwithstanding  his  former  opposition  to  the 
cause ;  by  enduring  and  accomplishing  in  it  more  than  all 
the  rest,  by  suffering  more  than  he  had  ever  inflicted,  by 
forwarding  the  cause  of  Truth  more  than  he  had  ever 
hindered  it,  and  by  bearing  with  him  this  pledge  that  God 


MISCELLANEOUS    APOPIITIIEOMR.  441 

had  fully  pardoned  him,  the  pledge  of  his  being  countcl 
worthy  not  only  to  suller  in  his  Master's  cause,  but  to  suffer 
more  than  any  other,  and  with  greater  effect. 

He  who  had  been  accessory  to  the  stoning  of  Stephen, 
himself,  alone  of  Apostles,  as  far  as  we  know,  suffered 
stoning  ;  he  who  had  been  so  zealous  in  behalf  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  was  destined  to  encounter  not  only  unbelieving  Jews, 
but  those  Christians  also  who  laboured  to  corrupt  Christianity 
by  mixing  the  law  of  Moses  with  it ;  he  who  had  been,  as  he 
expresses  it,  "  exceedingly  mad  against  the  disciples,  and 
persecuted  them  even  unto  strange  cities,"  was  himself  driven 
from  city  to  city  by  enemies  whose  fury  knew  no  bounds, 
both  of  his  own  countrymen,  and  of  the  senseless  rabble  of 
idolaters,  who  assailed  him  like  "  wild  beasts  at  Ephesus." 
He  who  had  misinterpreted  the  ancient  prophecies  respecting 
the  Messiah,  and  despised  his  disciples,  had  to  endure  not 
only  the  contradiction  and  derision  of  unbelievers,  but  also 
the  wilfulness  and  perversity  of  "false  brethren,"  who  mis- 
represented and  distorted  the  doctrines  he  himself  taught, 
and  of  arrogant  rivals  who  strove  to  bring  him  into  disrepute 
with  those  who  had  learnt  the  faith  from  him.  In  all  these 
struggles,  he  was  "  more  than  conqueror,  through  Christ  that 
strengthened"  him. 

Still  may  Paul  be  said  to  stand  in  his  works,  as  he  did  in 
person  while  on  earth,  in  the  front  of  the  battle ;  to  bear  the 
chief  brunt  of  assailants  from  the  enemies'  side,  and  to  be 
treacherously  stabbed  by  false  friends  on  his  own.  And 
still  do  his  works  stand,  and  will  ever  stand,  as  a  mighty 
bulwark  of  the  true  Christian  faith.  He,  after  having  him- 
self "  fought  the  good  fight,  and  finished  his  course,"  has 
left  behind  him  a  monument  in  his  works,  Avhereby,  *'  he 
being  dead,  yet  speaketh  ;"  —  a  monument  which  his  Master 


442  MISCELLANEOUS   APOPHTHEGMS. 

will  guard  (even  till  that  day  when  its  author  shall  receive 
the  ''  crown  of  righteousness  laid  up  for  him")  from  being 
overthrown  by  the  assaults  of  enemies,  and  from  mouldering 
into  decay  through  the  negligence  of  friends.  Ilis  labours 
can  never  be  efl'ectually  frustrated  except  by  being  kept  out 
of  siirht.  Whatever  brings  liim  into  notice  will,  ultiniatelv, 
bring  him  into  triumph.  All  the  nuilignity  and  the  sophistry 
of  his  adversaries  will  not  only  assail  him  in  vain,  but  will 
lead  in  the  end  to  the  perfecting  of  his  glory,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  his  Gospel.  They  may  scourge  him  uncondcmned, 
like  the  Roman  magistrates  at  Philippi ;  they  may  inflict  on 
him  the  lashes  of  calumnious  censure,  but  they  cannot 
silence  him  ;  they  may  thrust  him,  as  it  were,  into  a  dungeon, 
and  fetter  him  with  their  strained  interpretations,  but  his 
voice  will  be  raised  even  at  the  midnight  of  unchristian 
darkness,  and  will  be  heard  effectually  ;  his  prison-doors  will 
burst  open  as  with  an  earthquake,  and  the  fetters  will  fall 
from  his  hands ;  and  even  strangers  to  Gospel-truth  will  fall 
down  at  the  feet  of  him  —  even  Paul,  to  make  that  momen- 
tous enquiry,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 


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HAVE    RECENTLY    PUBLISHED 

THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 

BY 

KEV.  THEOPHILUS  STORK,  D.D. 


"Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."— Jesu3. 
"  How  oft,  heart-sick  and  sore, 
I've  wished  I  were,  once  more, 
A  little  child." — Mrs.  SoDTHEr. 


CONTENTS. 


rNTRODUCTION. — THE    TVONDEUS    OP 
BETHLEHESI. 

The  "  Holy  Child  Jesus."  The  Child- 
hood and  Youth  of  Christ.  The  De- 
vout Simeon,  with  the  Infant  Saviour 
in  his  arms.  Jesus  among  the  Doc- 
tors in  the  Temple.  The  sympathy 
of  Christ  with  little  children.  The 
beauty  of  childhood.  Poetical  quo- 
tations from  Wordsworth. 

lilTTLE    CHILDREN   BROUGHT   TO   THE 
SAVIOUR. 

Explanation  of  the  scene  in  Mark  x. 
13,  14.  The  Disciples'  conduct. 
The  probable  reasons  of  their  inter- 
ference. The  Saviour's  displeasure 
at  their  conduct.  His  afifeetionate 
welcome  to  children.  How  parents 
now  may  prevent  children  from 
going  to  Christ.  An  earnest  dis- 
suasive from  such  deportment.  The 
importance  of  example.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  home-spirit.  The  posi- 
tive duty  of  bringing  our  children 
to  the  Saviour. 

THE    CHILDREN  IN  THE   TEMPLE. 

Explanation  of  the  temple-scene.  Matt. 
sxi.  15,  16.  The  hosanna  of  the 
children.  The  displeasure  of  the 
priests  and  scribes.  The  Saviour's 
vindication  of  the  chihlren.  Ps. 
Tiii.  2,  explained.  The  importance 
of  early  impressions.     Heformation. 


National  education.  Sunday  schools. 
Facts,  showing  that  children  trained 
in  religion  will  become  the  cham- 
pions  of  truth  and  virtue.  Beautiful 
visions  of  the  future. 

TIMOTHY. 

His  early  religious  education.  The 
influence  of  maternal  piety.  Eunice 
an  example  for  the  imitation  of  mo- 
thers. The  "  child  father  of  the 
man."  Instruction  and  piety  com- 
bined. Encouragement  to  pious 
mothers. 

THE    INFANTICIDE    AT    BETHLEHEM. 

Explanation  of  the  scene.  Seeming 
incongruity.  Vindication  of  Divine 
Providence,  in  the  massacre  of  the 
infants.  Infant  martyrs.  The  scene, 
suggestive  of  the  following  topics  : 

1.  The  death  of  little  children.  Sources 
of  consolation.  Providence.  Infant 
salvation. 

2.  Mission  of  children.  The  advent 
of  a  little  child  in  the  family.  The 
child  at  home.  The  sick  and  dyicg 
child.     The  memory. 

3.  Children  in  heaven.  Beautiful  aa- 
pect  of  the  heavenly  home. 

4.  llecognition.  Difficulties  of  ttt 
doctrine.  Scriptural  ai'pect  of  the 
subject.  Dpvid.  Kecognition  of  th« 
loved  and  lost  in  heaven. 

Conclusion. 


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Breathes  the  sweet  memory  from  a  good  man's  tomb. 
Sm  E.  B.  Ltttok. 


CONTENTS. 


Communion  vritli  the  Past. 

The  Sacredness  of  tlie  Sepulchre. 

Visits  to  the  Sepulchres  of  our  De- 
parted. 

Lessons    which    the     Sepulchre    im- 
parts. 
The  Glory  of  Man. 

In  the  Sepulchre  the  Conflicts  of  Life 

end. 
At  the  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  we 

may  learn  the  Value  of  Life. 

The  Sepulchre  proclaims  the  Evil  of 
Sin. 

The  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  ad- 
monish us  to  be  gentle  and  kind  to 
the  Living. 

PosthumoHs  Fame.  —  The  Sepulchre 
instructs  us  how  to  Live,  so  as  to  be 
remembered  when  Dead. 

Ibo  Repose  of  the  Holy  Dead. 

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and  Immortality  of  the  Soul. 

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The  Indestructibility  of  the  Family 
Bond  a  source  of  Consolation  to  the 
Bereaved. 

At  the  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  wo 
may  also  learn  the  Right  which  God 
holds  in  us  and  our  Families. 

Future  Recognition. 

The  Sympathy  of  Jesus  with  afflicted 
and  bereaved  souls. 

Our  Present  and  our  Future  Home. 

Darkness  turned  to  Light,  or  the  Ugei 
we  should  make  of  afflictions  and 
bereavements. 

Grave-yards  and  Cemeteries,  or  the 
Claims  of  the  Dead  upon  the  Living, 
and  the  "Care  which  should  be  be- 
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A  little  cnild."— JMrj.  Southm). 

The  general  contents,  the  devotional  and  lovely  spirit  that  pervades  it,  the  flowing,  lucid,  and  rieli 
diction,  the  sound  sentiments,  the  ei.i~ouragements  to  parents  to  bring  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord,  the  abounding  consolations  for  those  who  in  God's  providence  have  been  called  to  yield  up 
their  little  ones  to  Him  who  gave  them,  these  and  other  characteristics,  render  this  book  one  of  tho 
most  interesting  and  valuable  of  the  kind  that  has  for  a  long  time  been  presented  to  the  pubUc— 
Lutheran  Observer. 

STRUGGLES  FOR  LIFE,  An  Autobiography. 
In  One  Vol.,  12mo.    Price  $1  00. 

What  Sunny  and  Shady  Side  are,  as  descriptive  of  American  Pastoral  Life,  this  delightful  volume  v 
as  descriptive  of  the  Life  of  an  English  pastor.  It  describes,  in  a  most  felicitous  style,  his  labonra, 
trials,  soijrows,  pleasures,  and  joys.  But,  perhaps,  its  chief  value  consists  in  the  vivid  views  it  give* 
of  human  nature  as  illustrated  in  the  leading  characteristics  of  Engtjsh  society,  manners,  and  custouM. 
—Speclalcr. 

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rise  from  the  perusal  of  Mr.  Montgomery's  poems  without  feeling  the  elevating  power  of  his  chaste 
and  beautiful  Ihics.  We  are  glad  to  see  such  a  favourite  poet  in  such  graceful  attire.  The  typ« 
paper,  and  entire  "getting  up"  of  this  lolume,  is  in  tasteful  accordance  with  the  precioiu  gems  i< 
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LINDSAY  &,  BLAKlSrON'S   PUBUCAFIONS 

PROCTOR'S    HISTORY    OF    THE    CRUSADES 
With  154  Illustrations. 


HISTOHY  OF  THE  CRUSADES, 

IflEIR  RISE,  PROGRESS,  AND  RESULTS.      By  Majob  Pboctob,  of  th« 

Royal  Military  Academy. 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  I.  The  First  Crusade. — Causes  of  the  Crnsades — Preaching  oi  the 
First  Crusade — Peter  the  Hermit — The  Crusade  nndertaken  by  the  People— 
The  Crusade  undertaken  by  the  Kings  and  Nobles — The  First  Cru.saders  at 
Constantinople — The  Siege  of  Nice — Defeat  of  the  Turks — Seizure  of  Edesea — 
Siege  and  Capture  of  Antioch  by  the  Crusaders — Defence  of  Antioch  by  ths 
Crusaders — Siege  and  Capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Crusaders. 

CHAPTER  II.  The  Second  Crusade.— State  of  the  Latin  Kingdom— Origin 
of  the  Orders  of  Religious  Chivalry — Fall  of  Edessa — Preaching  of  the  Second 
Crusade — Louis  VII.  and  Conrad  HI.  in  Palestine. 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Third  Crusade.— The  Rise  of  Saladin— Battle  of  Tibe- 
rias, and  Fall  of  Jerusalem — The  Germans  undertake  the  Crusade — Richard 
Coeur  de  Lion  in  Palestine. 

CHAPTER  IV.  The  Fourth  Crusade. — The  French,  Germans,  and  Italians 
unite  in  the  Crusade — Affairs  of  the  Eastern  Empire — Expedition  against  Con- 
stantinople— Second  Siege  of  Constantinople. 

CHAPTER  V.  The  Last  Four  Crusades.— History  of  the  Latin  Empire  of 
the  East— The  Fifth  Crusade— The  Sixth  Crusade— The  Seventh  Crusade— The 
Eighth  Crusade. 

CHAPTER  VI. — Consequences  of  the  Crusades. 


At  the  present  time,  when  a  misunderstanding  concerning  the  Holy  Places  at 
Jerusalem  has  given  rise  to  a  war  involving  four  of  the  great  Powers  of  Eurcpe, 
the  mind  naturally  reverts  to  the  period  when  nearly  all  the  military  powers  of 
Europe  made  a  descent  on  Palestine  for  the  recovery  of  them  from  the  possession 
of  the  infidels.  It  would  seem  that  the  interest  in  these  places  is  still  alive;  and 
the  history  of  the  Holy  Wars  in  Palestine  during  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  maybe  supposed  to  form  an  attractive  theme  for  the  general  reader. 

Under  this  impression  Major  Proctor's  excellent  "History  of  the  Crusades"  hna 
been  carefully  revised,  some  additions  made,  a  series  of  illustrative  engravings, 
executed  by  first-rate  artists,  introduced,  and  the  edition  is  now  respectfully  sub- 
mitted to  the  public. 

The  editor,  in  the  performance  of  his  duty,  has  been  struck  with  the  masterly, 
clear,  and  lucid  method  in  which  the  author  has  executed  the  work—a  work  of 
considerable  difficulty,  when  we  consider  the  long  period  and  the  multiplicity  of 
important  events  embraced  in  tho  history;  nor  has  the  editor  been  less  impressed 
with  the  Tigorous  style,  and  the  happy  power  of  giving  vividness,  colour,  and 
thrilling  interest  to  the  events  which  ho  narrates,  so  conspicuous  in  Major  Proc- 
tor's history.  No  other  historian  of  the  Crusades  has  succeeded  in  comprising  Be 
Cbmplete  and  entertaining  a  narrative  in  so  reasonable  a  compass. 

A  Handsome  Octaro  Volume,  bound  in  Cloth,  with  appropriate  Designs.  52  25 
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PUBLISH 

A  MANUAL  OF  SACEED  IIISTOEY; 

OR, 
A  GUIDE  TO  THE  UNDEKSTANDIXG 

ACCORDING  TO  ITS  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENT. 
BY 

JOHN  HENRY  KURTZ,  D.D., 

PROPESSOU    OF    CHUnCH    HISTORY   IX   THE    U.NIVEUSITY   OP   DOnPAT,   ETO. 

■TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  SIXTH  GERMAN  EDITION, 

BY 

CHARLES  R  SCHAEFFER,  D.D., 

^         OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

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sons, institutions  and  prophecies,  to  the  great  central  fact  and  theme  of  Scrip- 
ture, man's  redemption  through  the  incarnate  Sou."  —  Evanyelical  lieti^v, 
April,  1855. 

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